How to use reflexive verbs in German?

In German, we use reflexive verbs to describe actions you do to yourself. The subject of a reflexive verb is also its object. The object of a German reflexive verb will always be a reflexive pronoun (e.g. “itself,” “ourselves,” etc.), and it can either be in the accusative case or the dative case, depending on the verb you use.

In this post, we’ll talk about when you should use reflexive verbs in German, introduce the forms of the reflexive pronouns, and discuss how to use reflexive verbs in different tenses and sentence types. Let’s get started!

In German, a reflexive verb is a verb for which the subject and object are the same. Much like in English, German reflexive verbs look just like normal verbs, but their object is a reflexive pronoun like mich (meaning myself) or dich (meaning yourself).

However, though there are some similarities between reflexive verbs in German and English, there are also some major differences.

• Difference 1: Which verbs require reflexive pronouns

  Many self-directed actions that do not require a reflexive pronoun in English will require a reflexive pronoun in German. For example, many verbs of self-care require a reflexive pronoun where it is not required in English:

  reflexive pronoun

  ✅ Ich wasche mich.
  ❌ Ich wasche.

  Translation: I wash (myself).

  ✅ Thomas rasiert sich.
  ❌ Thomas rasiert.

  Translation: Thomas shaves (himself).

  Whenever the verbs above are self-directed, they must be used with a reflexive pronoun. Just like in English, though, these verbs do not always need to be self-directed. It’s fine to say, Ich wasche dich (meaning I wash you)!

  Keep reading for some more examples of German verbs that must be used with a reflexive pronoun!

• Difference 2: Reflexive pronouns in the accusative vs. dative case

  Each German reflexive pronoun has two different forms: an accusative form and a dative form. In general:

  • The accusative is used if the verb affects the whole of the subject.

    accusative case

    Du ziehst dich an.

    Translation: You are getting dressed.

    Literally: lit. You dress yourself.

  • The dative is used if the verb directly affects only a part of the subject, like a body part or article of clothing. While the specific part will be in the accusative, the reflexive pronoun is dative.

    dative caseaccusative case

    Du ziehst dir den Mantel an.

    Translation: You are putting your coat on.

    Literally: lit. You put on a coat to yourself.

  Here’s another helpful example of this:

  dative casereflexive pronoun

  Ich wasche mich.

  Translation: I wash (myself).

  Ich wasche mir das Gesicht.

  Translation: I am washing my face.

Below you can see the accusative and dative forms of the reflexive pronouns in German:

Two things to notice:

1. You don’t need to capitalize the reflexive pronoun that corresponds to the formal you (Sie).

2. You’ll only need to remember whether you’re using the dative or the accusative when the subject is ich or du. In all the other situations, the accusative and dative look the same!

In the list below you will find some other German reflexive verbs that often trip up learners of German. When these verbs are self-directed, they are always used with reflexive pronouns, even when that’s not the case in English. You’ll probably want to memorize this list:

Reflexive verbs can be used in various tenses and sentence types. Though the verb is conjugated just like a non-reflexive verb, you’ll want to pay close attention to the word order and, in particular, the placement of the reflexive pronoun in each type of sentence.

• In a statement, the reflexive pronoun usually comes after the conjugated verb.

  subjectconjugated verbreflexive pronoun

  Martin putzt sich jeden Morgen nach dem Frühstück die Zähne.

  Translation: Every morning, Martin brushes his teeth after breakfast.

  In a simple tense, the main verb is the conjugated verb.

  Wir hatten uns das anders vorgestellt.

  Translation: We had imagined this in a different way.

  In a compound tense, the auxiliary verb is the conjugated verb.

  But in a subordinate clause, where the conjugated verb is always at the end, the reflexive pronoun follows the subject instead:

  subjectreflexive pronounconjugated verb

  Sie sagte, dass sie sich angezogen habe.

  Translation: She said that she had gotten dressed.

• In a yes-no question, the reflexive pronoun usually follows the subject instead.

  conjugated verbsubjectreflexive pronoun

  Freut ihr euch auf den Sommer?

  Translation: Are you looking forward to summer?

  Hast du dich schon gewaschen?

  Translation: Have you washed yet?

• In an informal command, the reflexive pronoun follows the imperative verb.

  imperative verbreflexive pronoun

  Schau dich nicht immer im Spiegel an!

  Translation: Don’t look at yourself in the mirror all the time!

  Fürchtet euch nicht, wenn ihr alleine zu Hause seid!

  Translation: Don’t be afraid when you are home alone!

  But in a formal command, it usually follows the subject instead.

  imperative verbsubjectreflexive pronoun

  Beeilen Sie sich!

  Translation: Hurry up!

• Reflexive verbs in the subjunctive II follow the same rules as statements. The reflexive pronoun follows the conjugated verb in a main clause and follows the subject in a subordinate clause.

  subjectconjugated verb (subjunctive II)reflexive pronoun

  Ich hätte mich nicht erkältet, wenn ich mir den Mantel angezogen hätte.

  Translation: I wouldn’t have caught a cold, if I had put on my coat.

  main clause

  Wenn ich mich nicht erkältet hätte, wäre ich auf die Party gegangen.

  Translation: If I hadn’t caught a cold, I would have gone to the party.

  subordinate clause

Though the main function of German reflexive verbs is to express self-directed actions, they can also be used in a construction called the middle voice.

The middle voice is used a lot like the passive voice, in that the subject isn’t actively doing anything, but is instead affected by the action of the verb. But unlike the passive voice, we don’t use a passive verb or sentence structure. Here’s an example of this contrast in English:

• Passive voice: The essay is being read (by John).

• Middle voice: This essay reads well.

In German, the middle voice is expressed by using reflexive verbs! Usually, in these cases, the subject is a non-living noun, and you are assessing the ease or manner in which it can be affected by a verb.

You’ll see this especially often with the verb lassen (meaning to let):

Check out our post on the uses of lassen in German to learn more about this last use!

In this post, we discussed German reflexive verbs:

• Reflexive verbs are conjugated like normal verbs, but they come with a reflexive pronoun to indicate that the action of the verb refers back to the doer of the action.

• With a few exceptions, the reflexive pronoun is in the accusative case when there is no other object and is in the dative case when there is already an accusative object.

• Some German self-directed verbs require reflexive pronouns, though their English counterparts do not.

• Reflexive verbs are occasionally used to express the middle voice (e.g. “This car drives (itself) fast”)

Let’s find out! Test your skills with these German reflexive verb exercises!