Reflexive Verbs (sich waschen, sich freuen, sich erinnern)

A reflexive verb is a verb where the subject and the object are the same person — the action "reflects" back onto the subject. In German, reflexive verbs use a reflexive pronoun (sich in the infinitive form). Many everyday actions in German require reflexive verbs, including some that are not reflexive in English.

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What Makes a Verb Reflexive?

Compare:

• Ich wasche das Auto. — I wash the car. (NOT reflexive — washing something else)
• Ich wasche mich. — I wash myself. (Reflexive — washing myself)

The reflexive pronoun (mich in this case) refers back to the subject (ich).

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Reflexive Pronouns (Accusative)

Subject	Reflexive Pronoun	English
ich	mich	myself
du	dich	yourself
er/sie/es	sich	himself/herself/itself
wir	uns	ourselves
ihr	euch	yourselves
sie/Sie	sich	themselves / yourself (formal)

Note: Only the third person (singular and plural) and formal Sie use sich. The other forms are the same as the regular accusative pronouns.

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