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Study Resource: Reflexive verbs in Brazilian Portuguese

By: Ana Amélia Rodrigues dos Santos

This study resource presents some examples of different kinds of reflexive verbs in Brazilian Portuguese.

Intransitive reflexive verbs

Verbs that are often used only as reflexive:

Brazilian PortugueseEnglish
comportar-se

to behave oneself

queixar-se

to complain

arrepender-se

to regret

chamar-se

to call oneself

zangar-se

to be mad

abster-se

to abstain

lembrar-se

to remember oneself

atrever-se

to dare

despedir-se

to say goodbye

Transitive reflexive verbs

Verbs that can be either reflexive or non-reflexive:

Brazilian PortugueseEnglish
levantar-se

to get up

deitar-se

to lie down

olhar-se

to look at oneself

arrumar-se

to get ready

vestir-se

to get dressed

pentear-se

to comb oneself

barbear-se

to shave oneself

cuidar-se

to take care of oneself

alongar-se

to stretch out

preocupar-se

to worry

incubir-se

to take care of oneself

contorcer-se

to squirm

machucar-se/ ferir-se

to get hurt

cortar-se

to cut oneself

apresentar-se

to introduce oneself

divertir-se

to enjoy oneself

convercer-se

to convince oneself

negar-se

to deny oneself

encorajar-se

to encourage oneself

enganar-se

to deceive

alimentar-se

to feed oneself

maquiar-se

to put on makeup

encontrar-se

to meet up

inscrever-se

to sign up

lamentar-se

to feel sorry for something

banhar-se

to bathe

casar-se

to get married

mudar-se

to move (homes)

surpreender-se

to surprise oneself

Expressions with reflexive pronouns

  • fazer-se de bobo:

    The literal translation of this expression is “to make a fool of oneself.”

    However, when a person says, “Ela se fez de boba durante a conversa,” it actually means that she pretended to not have understood something.

  • matar-se de + infinitive:

    The literal translation of matar-se de de is “to kill oneself by” + verb.

    However, when a person says, “O aluno se matou de estudar para o exame,” it means that the student studied a lot for the exam and put a lot of effort into doing it.