Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive verbs are verbs where the subject performs an action on itself. In Italian, reflexive verbs are easily recognised in their infinitive form by the pronoun -si attached to the end (after removing the final -e): alzarsi (to get up), lavarsi (to wash oneself), vestirsi (to get dressed).

Reflexive verbs are much more common in Italian than in English and are essential for describing daily routines.

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Reflexive Pronouns

Each subject has a corresponding reflexive pronoun:

Subject	Reflexive Pronoun	English
io	mi	myself
tu	ti	yourself
lui / lei / Lei	si	himself / herself / yourself (formal)
noi	ci	ourselves
voi	vi	yourselves
loro	si	themselves

Tip: The reflexive pronoun is placed before the conjugated verb in Italian: Mi alzo (I get up), NOT Alzo mi.

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Conjugating Reflexive Verbs

The verb itself is conjugated normally — you simply add the reflexive pronoun before it.

alzarsi (to get up) — regular -ARE