Reflexive verbs

Reflexive Verben

In German, reflexive verbs are those with the reflexive pronoun sich (oneself), which is inflected together with the verb for person.

Examples of sentences with reflexive verbs

Wir streiten uns oft.

Translation
We often argue with each other.

Ich treffe mich mit meinen Freunden um 10 Uhr.

Translation
I am meeting my friends at 10.

Conjugation and applications

Conjugation of the reflexive verbs for persons in the dative case (Dativ)

Person	Reflexivpronomen	Beispiel	Translation
ich	mir	Ich wasche mir die Hände.	I am washing (literally: myself) my hands.
du	dir	Du wäsch(s)t dir die Hände.	You are washing (literally: youself) your hands.
er/sie/es	sich	Er wäscht sich die Hände.	He is washing his hands.
wir	uns	Wir waschen uns die Hände.	We are washing (literally: ourselves) our hands.
ihr	euch	Ihr wascht euch die Hände.	You are washing (literally: yourselves) your hands.
sie/Sie	sich	Sie waschen sich die Hände.	They are washing (themselves) their hands.

The umlaut a 👉 ä in the second and third person singular (du, er/sie/es) is a result of the conjugation of the verb waschen. It doesn't have anything to do with the reflexive verb.

Comparison of the reflexive pronoun and the personal pronoun in the dative case (Dativ)

Reflexive pronoun for almost every person has the same form as the personal pronoun but in the third person singular (er/sie/es) and in the third person plural (sie/Sie), these two differ. The table and examples below show what the difference is.

Er kämmt sich die Haare. [(!) ~~Er kämmt ihm die Haare.~~]

Translation
He is combing (himself) his hair. [(!) He is combing him (another male's hair) the hair.]

Explanation
Both sentences are correct but have different meanings. The first uses a reflexive pronoun and the second uses a personal pronoun.

Sie können sich leisten, ein neues Auto zu kaufen. [(!) ~~Sie können ihnen leisten, ein neues Auto zu kaufen.~~]

Translation
They can afford themselves to buy a new car. [(!) The sentence in parentheses is incorrect]

Explanation
The first sentence is correct and the second one is incorrect because the verb leisten is not reflexive and it has a different meaning, which cannot be used this way.

Person	Reflexivpronomen	Personalpronomen
ich	mir	mir
du	dir	dir
er/sie/es	sich (!)	ihm/ihr/ihm (!)
wir	uns	uns
ihr	euch	euch
sie/Sie	sich (!)	ihnen/Ihnen (!)

Conjugation of the reflexive verb for person in the accusative case (Akkusativ)

Person	Reflexivpronomen	Beispiel	Translation
ich	mich	Ich freue mich.	I am happy.
du	dich	Du freust dich.	You (singular) are happy.
er/sie/es	sich	Er freut sich.	He is happy.
wir	uns	Wir freuen uns.	We are happy.
ihr	euch	Ihr freut euch.	You (plural) are happy.
sie/Sie	sich	Sie freuen sich.	They are happy.

Exceptions and special cases

Reflexive verbs in the (Dativ) and (Akkusativ) case

Some reflexive verbs may be used in the dative case (Dativ) or in the accusative case (Akkusativ) e.g. sich waschen/kämmen/rasieren - to wash/comb/shave (oneself).

Ich wasche mir die Hände. (Dativ)

Translation
I am washing (literally: myself) my hands.

Ich wasche mich. (Akkusativ)

Translation
I am washing myself.

Ich stelle mir vor, dass ich fliegen kann. (Dativ)

Translation
I imagine I can fly.

Explanation
sich (etwas) +Dativ vor|stellen - to imagine sth

Soll ich mich erst vorstellen? (Akkusativ)

Translation
Should I first introduce myself?

Explanation
sich vor|stellen - to introduce oneself