Reflexive Verbs in French: How and When to Use “Se” Verbs

Mastering French Reflexive Verbs: A Complete Beginner’s Guide to “Se” Verbs

If you’ve ever come across verbs like s’appeler, se lever, or se dépêcher in French and wondered what the little word se is doing there, you’re not alone!

Reflexive verbs, or verbes pronominaux in French, can be confusing at first, but they’re actually quite logical. Once you understand how they work, you’ll recognize them everywhere and use them naturally in your own sentences.

Let’s break it down step by step.

What Are Reflexive Verbs in French?

A reflexive verb is a verb where the action reflects back on the subject — in other words, the subject does something to themselves.

In English, this often translates to phrases like I wash myself, she gets up, or they hurry up.

In French, these verbs always come with a reflexive pronoun — that’s the little me, te, se, nous, vous, se you see before the verb.

Examples:

• Je me lève. → I get up.

• Tu te laves. → You wash yourself.

• Il se prépare. → He gets ready.

• Nous nous réveillons. → We wake up.

• Ils se dépêchent. → They hurry up.

Notice how the pronoun changes depending on who’s doing the action.

The Reflexive Pronouns in French

Here’s the full list you’ll need to remember:

Subject PronounReflexive PronounExamplejeme (m’)je me lavetute (t’)tu te lèvesil / elle / onse (s’)il se réveillenousnousnous nous habillonsvousvousvous vous couchezils / ellesse (s’)ils se dépêchent

Tip: When the verb starts with a vowel (like appeler or ennuyer), me, te, and se shorten to m’, t’, s’:

• Je m’appelle.

• Tu t’ennuies.

• Il s’habille.

How to Conjugate Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are conjugated like normal verbs, but you must always include the reflexive pronoun before the verb.

Let’s look at the verb se lever (to get up), which is a regular -er verb:

FrenchEnglishJe me lèveI get upTu te lèvesYou get upIl / Elle se lèveHe / She gets upNous nous levonsWe get upVous vous levezYou get upIls / Elles se lèventThey get up

You can see the reflexive pronoun in front of each form.

Reflexive Verbs in Different Tenses

In the passé composé (past tense):

Reflexive verbs always use “être” as the auxiliary verb.

Example with se lever:

• Je me suis levé(e). → I got up.

• Ils se sont levés. → They got up.
  

Agreement rule: When the reflexive pronoun is a direct object, the past participle agrees with the subject:

• Elle s’est lavée. → She washed herself.
  But not when there’s another object:

• Elle s’est lavé les mains. → She washed her hands. (No “e” at the end of lavé.)

In the negative form:

The ne…pas goes around both the pronoun and the verb:

• Je ne me lève pas tôt. → I don’t get up early.

• Nous ne nous sommes pas ennuyés. → We didn’t get bored.

When to Use Reflexive Verbs in French

Reflexive verbs often describe daily routines, emotions, and actions you do to yourself.

Common Reflexive Verbs for Everyday Use

VerbMeaningse leverto get upse laverto wash (oneself)s’habillerto get dressedse coucherto go to bedse réveillerto wake upse dépêcherto hurry upse souvenir deto remembers’appelerto be calleds’ennuyerto get boredse promenerto take a walk

Example sentences:

• Je me réveille à sept heures. → I wake up at 7.

• Nous nous promenons au parc. → We take a walk in the park.

• Tu t’appelles comment ? → What’s your name?

Reflexive or Not? (Sometimes It Depends!)

Some verbs change meaning depending on whether they’re used reflexively.

Non-reflexiveReflexiveEnglish meaningappelers’appelerto call / to be namedarrêters’arrêterto stop (something) / to stop oneselfdemanderse demanderto ask / to wonderennuyers’ennuyerto bore / to be boredpasserse passerto pass / to happen

Example:

• Il arrête la voiture. → He stops the car.

• Il s’arrête. → He stops (himself).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. ❌ Je me lave les mains. → ✅ Je me lave les mains.
   (Correct — no extra “me” at the end!)

2. ❌ Je lave me les mains.
   ✅ Je me lave les mains.
   (The reflexive pronoun must come before the verb.)

3. ❌ Je me suis lavé les mainses.
   ✅ Je me suis lavé les mains.
   (No agreement when the verb has a direct object like les mains.)

Final Tip

Reflexive verbs may seem tricky, but once you memorize the reflexive pronouns and see a few examples, they become intuitive.

Always ask yourself:

• Is the person doing the action to themselves?
  If yes, it’s a reflexive verb!

You’ll hear se lever, s’appeler, se souvenir, and s’habiller all the time in daily French. So start using them early, they’ll make your speech sound natural and authentic.