Reflexive Verbs
Reflexive Verbs
English uses reflexive pronouns (myself, himself) only when an action truly reflects back onto its subject. German uses reflexive verbs far more broadly, including many that don't feel reflexive in English at all.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
Reflexive verbs: the action bounces back to the subject
Ich freue mich. (I am glad / I look forward to it — literally 'I rejoice myself')
I'm happy / I'm glad.
English has reflexive verbs too (I hurt myself, he shaves himself), but uses them only when the action literally reflects back onto the subject. German uses reflexive verbs far more broadly, including many verbs that don't feel 'reflexive' at all in English translation: sich freuen ('to be glad'), sich interessieren ('to be interested'), sich erinnern ('to remember'), sich beeilen ('to hurry'). These simply have to be learned as reflexive verbs, since English marks none of them that way.
Reflexive pronouns
mich, dich, sich, uns, euch, sich (for ich/du/er-sie-es/wir/ihr/sie-Sie)
myself, yourself, himself/herself/itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves/yourself (formal)
Notice sich covers third person singular AND plural AND the formal Sie — unlike English, which has a different reflexive pronoun for each person (himself, herself, themselves). Most reflexive pronouns are identical to the accusative object pronouns you already learned, except third person, which always uses sich instead of ihn/sie/es/sie.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| sich freuen | zikh FROY-en | to be glad / happy |
| sich waschen | zikh VAH-shen | to wash oneself |
| sich anziehen | zikh AHN-tsee-en | to get dressed |
| sich setzen | zikh ZET-sen | to sit down |
| sich interessieren für | zikh in-teh-reh-SEE-ren fuer | to be interested in |
| sich erinnern an | zikh air-IN-ern ahn | to remember |
| sich beeilen | zikh beh-EYE-len | to hurry |
| sich fühlen | zikh FUE-len | to feel |
| sich entspannen | zikh ent-SHPAH-nen | to relax |
| sich ärgern über | zikh AIR-gern UE-ber | to be annoyed about |
| sich amüsieren | zikh ah-mue-ZEE-ren | to have fun / enjoy oneself |