Reflexive Pronouns — German Grammar

Reflexive pronouns indicate that the subject of a sentence is performing an action upon itself. In English, these words end in "-self" or "-selves" (e.g., "I see myself"). In German, the specific pronoun used depends on the grammatical person (I, you, he, etc.) and the case (accusative or dative).

Standard Reflexive Forms (Accusative)

Most reflexive verbs use the accusative case. The pronouns for "I" () and "you" () are specific, but the third person (he, she, it, they) and the formal "you" all share the same pronoun: .

Ich wasche mich.
I am washing myself.
Er rasiert sich jeden Morgen.
He shaves (himself) every morning.
Wir müssen uns vorbereiten.
We have to prepare ourselves.

Mandatory Reflexive Verbs

A significant difference between German and English is that many German verbs must be used with a reflexive pronoun, even when the English equivalent is not reflexive. In these instances, the pronoun does not translate literally to "myself" or "yourself" in English, but it is grammatically required in German.

Ich beeile mich.
I am hurrying.
Er erinnert sich an den Film.
He remembers the movie.
Wir setzen uns auf das Sofa.
We are sitting down on the sofa.

Dative Reflexive Pronouns

When an action is performed for oneself, or on a specific part of one's body, the case changes from accusative to dative. This usually occurs because the body part or the item being acquired functions as the direct object, forcing the reflexive pronoun into the indirect object position.

The forms change only for the first and second person singular:

becomes
becomes
, , and remain the same.

Ich putze mir die Zähne.
I am brushing my teeth.
Du kaufst dir ein neues Buch.
You are buying yourself a new book.
Sie kämmt sich die Haare.
She is combing her hair.

Reciprocal Meanings

With plural subjects (we, you all, they), reflexive pronouns can also express the idea of "each other" or "one another." The context of the sentence usually clarifies whether the meaning is reflexive (action on themselves) or reciprocal (action between them).

Wir treffen uns später.
We are meeting (each other) later.
Die Kinder streiten sich.
The children are arguing (with each other).
Sie kennen sich gut.
They know each other well.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s German course

25 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 5. A few of them, with the words “Reflexive Pronouns” is about in bold:

Ich fühle mich großartig! Ich bin nicht krank. Ich bin gesund.
I feel great! I am not sick. I am healthy.
Lesson 64
Wie lächerlich. Sie irren sich beide.
How ridiculous. You (pol.) are both wrong.
Lesson 163
Seht euch die Küche an! Sie ist so klein.
Go and check out (pl.) the kitchen. It is so small.
Lesson 322

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