Reflexive Verbs: levantarse, llamarse, ducharse

🎯What You'll Learn

Understand what are and when to use them
Use reflexive (me, te, se, nos, os, se) with daily routine verbs
Form simple sentences with common reflexive verbs like levantarse and llamarse
Talk about your daily routine using reflexive verbs

📋Overview

Reflexive verbs describe actions that we do to ourselves. Think about English phrases like "I wash myself" or "She dressed herself" - in Spanish, these become much more common and natural-sounding than their English equivalents.

Reflexive Actions: Same Concept, Different Language

In English, we might say "I get up" or "I go to bed" - these actions happen to ourselves. Spanish makes this relationship explicit by using reflexive pronouns.

English:
"I get up at 7am"
"She washes her face"

Spanish:
"Me levanto a las 7"
"Se lava la cara"

The key difference is that Spanish uses special reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) to show that the action reflects back to the person doing it.

🏗️Structure & Formation

The Reflexive Pronouns

me - myself

te - yourself

se - himself/herself/yourself (formal)

nos - ourselves

os - yourselves (Spain only)

se - themselves/yourselves (formal)

How to Conjugate Reflexive Verbs

Conjugating reflexive verbs involves two steps: 1) Conjugate the verb normally, and 2) Add the matching reflexive pronoun before the conjugated verb.

Example: levantarse (to get up)

Subject	Pronoun	Verb	Complete Form	English
yo	me	levanto	me levanto	I get up
tú	te	levantas	te levantas	you get up
él/ella/usted	se	levanta	se levanta	he/she gets up
nosotros/as	nos	levantamos	nos levantamos	we get up
vosotros/as	os	levantáis	os levantáis	you all get up
ellos/ellas/ustedes	se	levantan	se levantan	they get up

yo	me levanto	I get up
tú	te levantas	you get up
él/ella	se levanta	he/she gets up
nosotros	nos levantamos	we get up
vosotros	os levantáis	you all get up
ellos	se levantan	they get up

Key Pattern: The reflexive pronoun always matches the subject. If the verb changes for stem changes (like acostarse → me acuesto), the pronoun still comes before the conjugated form.

Common Reflexive Verbs for Daily Routine

despertarse

to wake up

Me despierto a las 7

ducharse

to shower

Se ducha por la mañana

vestirse

to get dressed

Nos vestimos rápido

peinarse

to comb one's hair

Te peinas muy bien

acostarse

to go to bed

Se acuestan tarde

llamarse

to be called/named

Me llamo María

Reflexive Pronoun Position

Before Conjugated Verbs

Me levanto temprano

I get up early

Attached to Infinitives

Quiero ducharme

I want to shower

💡Examples

Morning Routine

Wake up

Me levanto a las siete

I get up at seven

Hygiene

Me ducho antes del desayuno

I shower before breakfast

Clothing

Me visto rápido

I get dressed quickly

Grooming

Me peino frente al espejo

I comb my hair in front of the mirror

Evening Routine

Hygiene

Me lavo los dientes

I brush my teeth

Clothing

Me pongo el pijama

I put on my pajamas

Sleep

Me acuesto a las once

I go to bed at eleven

Sleep

Me duermo enseguida

I fall asleep right away

Questions & Others

Question

¿A qué hora te levantas?

What time do you get up?

Question

¿Te duchas por la mañana?

Do you shower in the morning?

Others

Mi hermana se viste lentamente

My sister gets dressed slowly

Others

Nos acostamos tarde los fines de semana

We go to bed late on weekends

⚠️Common Mistakes

Don't Forget the Reflexive Pronoun

Wrong:Levanto a las siete

Correct:Me levanto a las siete

Without "me", you're saying "I lift something at seven" instead of "I get up at seven"

Not All Verbs Are Always Reflexive

lavar (to wash) vs lavarse (to wash oneself)

Lavo el coche

I wash the car

Me lavo las manos

I wash my hands

🧠Quick Test

1. How do you say 'I get up at 6 AM'?

2. What's the correct way to say 'She washes her face'?

3. Choose the correct conjugation: 'We go to bed late'

4. How do you say 'My name is Ana' in Spanish?

5. What's the correct form for 'You (informal) shower in the morning'?

6. How do you say 'They get dressed quickly'?

7. Which sentence means 'Do you (informal) go to bed early?'

8. How do you say 'He combs his hair every day'?

Want more practice? Try our interactive fill-in-the-blank exercises covering reflexive verb conjugations in context!

📚Useful Resources

🔄Reflexive Verbs that Change Meaning

Discover how adding "se" transforms verbs like ir/irse, dormir/dormirse, acordar/acordarse. Learn when reflexive pronouns completely change a verb's meaning.

Lesson

📋40 Most Common Spanish Reflexive Verbs

Master the 40 most essential Spanish reflexive verbs organised by category. From daily routines (levantarse, ducharse) to emotions (sentirse, preocuparse) with 160 practical examples.

Lesson

🔄Practice Reflexive Verbs: Fill-in-the-Blank Exercises

Master reflexive verbs with 3 progressive exercises covering daily routines, emotions, and mixed tenses. Practise both reflexive pronouns and conjugations.

Fill in the Blank

📄Reflexive Verbs Cheat Sheet (PDF)

Download our free printable cheat sheet with reflexive pronouns, placement rules, common daily routine verbs, and verbs that change meaning with SE.

PDF

📖Reading: Mi día (My Day)

Practice reading comprehension with a beginner text about daily routines. Features reflexive verbs, present tense, and time expressions.

Reading

🎧Listening: De Compras (Shopping)

Practice listening comprehension with a beginner conversation about shopping for clothes. Features demonstratives (este/ese/aquel), colors, and numbers.

Listening

🎧Listening: Mi Rutina Diaria (My Daily Routine)

Practice listening comprehension with an elementary narration about daily routine. Features reflexive verbs and time expressions.

Listening

🎧Listening: La Clase de Cocina (The Cooking Class)

Practice listening comprehension with an intermediate conversation about a cooking class making tortilla española. Features tú commands, regular present tense verbs, and cooking vocabulary.

Listening