Reflexive Verbs (se lever, se laver, s'appeler)

Reflexive verbs are verbs where the subject performs the action on itself. In English, we might say "I wash myself" or "He enjoys himself." In French, reflexive verbs are far more common and are used in many everyday situations where English would not use a reflexive construction.

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What Makes a Verb Reflexive?

A reflexive verb is identified by the pronoun se before the infinitive: se laver (to wash oneself), se lever (to get up), s'appeler (to be called).

The se is a reflexive pronoun that changes to match the subject:

Subject	Reflexive Pronoun	Example: se lever
je	me (m')	je me lève
tu	te (t')	tu te lèves
il/elle/on	se (s')	il se lève
nous	nous	nous nous levons
vous	vous	vous vous levez
ils/elles	se (s')	ils se lèvent

Elision: Me, te, and se become m', t', s' before a vowel or silent h: *je **m'*appelle, *tu **t'*habilles, *il **s'*assied.

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Common Reflexive Verbs

Daily Routine