Italian 4.3. Reflexive Pronouns & Verbs

In this lesson, we will cover reflexive pronouns and verbs in Italian.

A verb is considered reflexive if the subject and the object of the verb are the same. This means that the subject is doing the action to itself, not to something or someone else. For instance, “I wash myself” is reflexive, while “I wash my car” is not reflexive.

Some verbs in Italian are commonly used in the reflexive form. Let us take one example that we are familiar with. The verb “chiamare” means “to call,” e.g., “mia madre, mi chiama ogni venerdì” (My mom calls me every Friday).

However, the reflexive form of the verb “chiamarsi,” which literally means “to call oneself,” is used to express one’s name. For instance, “Mi chiamo Carlo” means “My name is Carlo,” which is literally “I call myself Carlo.” A reflexive verb in formed by replacing the final “-e” in the infinitive with “-si,” often translated as “oneself.”

Conjugation

There are many verbs in Italian that have reflexive forms. We will discuss some examples; however, let us first learn how to conjugate reflexive verbs.

	Object Personal Pron.	e.g., chiamarsi
io	mi	chiamo
tu	ti	chiami
lui/lei	si	chiama
noi	ci	chiamiamo
voi	vi	chiamate
loro	si	chiamano

As shown in the table, we add the object personal pronoun before the verb. Note that the subject and object personal pronouns are of the same gender and number because the subject and the object are essentially the same.

Examples

Remember that when the verb is used in reflexive form, the infinitive ends in “si,” e.g., “chiamarsi.” Here are more examples of reflexive verbs.

alzarsi	to get up	annoiarsi	to get bored
arrabbiarsi (con)	to get mad (at)	distrarsi	to distract oneself
divertirsi	to have fun	farsi la doccia	to take a shower
farsi male	to hurt oneself	fermarsi	to stop
innamorarsi	to fall in love	lavarsi	to wash oneself
occuparsi	to take care of oneself	mettersi	to put on
pettinarsi	to comb one’s hair	perdersi	to get lost
prepararsi	to get ready	preoccuparsi	to worry
pulirsi	to clean oneself	radersi farsi la barba	to shave
ricordarsi	to remember	rallegrarsi	to rejoice
sbrigarsi	to hurry	riprendersi	to recover
sedersi	to sit down	sentirsi	to feel
slogarsi	to twist or sprain	spogliarsi	to undress oneself
stancarsi	to get tired	svegliarsi	to wake up
ubriacarsi	to get drunk	vestirsi	to get dressed

Let us look at some examples of reflexive pronouns and verbs in Italian in context:

Mi annoio velocemente a casa.	I get bored fast at home.
Lei si sveglia sempre presto.	She always wakes up early.
Ci divertiamo molto insieme.	We have a lot of fun together.
Mi rado due volte a settimana.	I shave twice a week.

One can add the reflexive pronoun to verbs that are not usually reflexive to make them reflexive, for example:

parlarsi	to speak to each other	vedersi	to see each other
capirsi	to understand each other	visitarsi	to visit each other
comprarsi	to buy oneself something	ascoltarsi	to listen to oneself

Some verbs are used only in reflexive form, such as “suicidarsi” (to commit suicide).

Change of Meaning in Reflexive Form

Some verbs change their meaning when they are used in reflexive form, for example:

annoiare	to bore	annoiarsi	to get bored
coricare	to lay down	coricarsi	to lie down or go to bed
sposare	to join in marriage	sposarsi	to get married
addormentare	to put to sleep	addormentarsi	to fall asleep

Conjugation in Compound Tenses

Finally, keep in mind that all reflexive verbs use the auxiliary “essere” when conjugated in the present perfect tense, regardless of the auxiliary used by the non-reflexive form of the verb. For example:

Ieri sera mi sono annoiato.	I got bored last night.
Lei si è svegliata presto oggi.	She woke up early today.
Ieri ci siamo divertiti molto.	We had a lot of fun yesterday.
Mi sono rasato la scorsa settimana.	I shaved last week.
Si sono visti per caso.	They saw each other by accident.

Remember that when “essere,” is used as an auxiliary, the past participle takes the treatment of an adjective and must agree in gender and number with the subject.

Next: Expressions Using “Avere” & “Fare”

Back to: Italian Lessons

Other lessons in Level IV: