Updated on February 8, 2024
A short guide to reflexive pronouns in German
Reflexive pronouns in German come with reflexive verbs. They also come in two forms, i.e. in the accusative and the dative case. These little pronouns are similar to personal pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, es…) and can be easily memorized just like vocabulary. They will help you clarify relations between subjects and objects and groups of people with minimal effort. We’ve put all you need to know about German reflexive pronouns in a short guide that will show you what German reflexive pronouns are and when and how to use them. We’ll round it up with a declension table for the reflexive pronouns and a list of commonly used reflexive verbs for a quick start.
A pronoun – according to the Latin origin of the name consisting of pro (for, instead of) and nomen (name) – stands in place of a noun. If it accompanies the noun, it defines it. The noun that can be defined or replaced can be the subject or the object of a sentence. In case of reflexive pronouns, they refer back to the subject of the sentence (see Latin reflectere = to turn back to). This again puts them in a close connection with the verb, that is governed by the subject. So if we want to fully understand reflexive pronouns, we have to look at the subject, the verb and how the pronoun itself ties them together.
Reflexive verbs are verbs whose direct object is the same as the subject. This object takes the form of a reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject.
Example:
“Ich wundere mich.” – I wonder (literally: myself).
“Er wäscht sich.” – He washes himself.
As you can see from the examples, the English language uses reflexive pronouns, too. These are the pronouns ending in -self. As you can also see, verbs may be reflexive in both languages or just in one. So if a verb is reflexive in English, it can be a hint for you to use a reflexive pronoun with it in German, too, but there is no guarantee. The best way to get your reflexive verbs right and to know when to use reflexive pronouns in German is to memorize the German reflexive verbs when learning vocabulary. You can recognize reflexive verbs in German by the pronoun sich (oneself) preceding the infinitive:
“sich wundern” – to wonder (oneself)
“sich waschen” – to wash (oneself)
If you look closely at the two examples above, you will see that there is no other way to use sich wundern – to wonder. You cannot wonder someone else. If someone is to wonder about something because of you and you want to be the subject of the sentence, you need to use another verb: In English, that would be to amaze (You amaze me everytime), in German, you would use erstaunen (Du erstaunst mich immer wieder). Both take an object different from the subject. If we look at the second example though, you will see, that you can either wash yourself or someone or something else:
“Er wäscht sich.” – He washes himself.
“Er wäscht den Salat.” – He washes the lettuce.
A special form of reflexive verbs are reciprocal verbs, where the reflexive pronouns define the relation of members of a group to each other:
“Die vier Freunde verstanden sich gut.”
– The four friends got along well (with each other).
In the case of verbs like sich wundern we speak of true reflexive verbs with true reflexive pronouns. These verbs cannot take an object other than a reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject. Indeed, the reflexive pronoun is part of the verb.
In the case of verbs like (sich) waschen, we speak of optional reflexive verbs with optional reflexive pronouns. Instead of the reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject, the object can be something else, for example the lettuce mentioned above, taking the accusative case:
“Er wäscht den Salat”. – He washes the lettuce.
With what you’ve learned so far in mind, the first thing you need to do when using a reflexive pronoun is to determine if you need to use it in the accusative or dative case. To do that, find out who or what the direct object is that is acted upon. If it is the same as the subject, use the reflexive pronoun in the accusative case:
“Er wäscht sich.” – He washes himself.
If the direct object is different from the subject, leave the reflexive pronoun out:
“Er wäscht den Salat.” – He washes the lettuce.
You could add a relation of ownership by using a possessive pronoun:
“Er wäscht seinen Salat.” – He washes his lettuce.
You could also specify the relation between the subject (he) and the object (lettuce) by adding a reflexive pronoun in the dative case:
“Er wäscht sich einen Salat.” – He washes lettuce for himself
Note: When using a reflexive pronoun in the dative case, you don’t use a possessive pronoun with the direct object. You cannot say:
“Er wäscht sich seinen Salat.” – He washes his lettuce for himself. (wrong!)
As you can see, this topic is quite straightforward and can help you boost your language skills even early on in your language learning journey.
When using reflexive pronouns, also pay attention to the word order. The reflexive pronoun directly follows the conjugated verb form, if the verb consists of more than one word for example is the case in the past perfect or the future tense:
Now that you have learned how and when to use reflexive pronouns and reflexive verbs in German, you need to learn the pronouns themselves and their declension.
| Dativ/dative | Akkusativ/accusative | |
| Ich (I) | mir | mich |
| Du (you) | dir | dich |
| er/sie/es (he/she/it) | sich | sich |
| Sie (you singular formal) | sich | sich |
| wir (we) | uns | uns |
| ihr (you) | euch | euch |
| sie (they) | sich | sich |
| Sie (you plural formal) | sich | sich |
Last but not least, we want to provide you with a list of commonly used reflexive verbs in German:
German reflexive pronouns are used with German reflexive verbs. Depending on what kind of object the verb takes, these are true reflexive verbs and pronouns or optional reflexive verbs and pronouns. The reflexive pronoun always follows the conjugated form of the verb. The best way of learning reflexive verbs and pronouns in German is to memorize the infinitive with sich and the declension table for the reflexive pronouns in the dative and accusative case.
