A reflexive verb carries a pronoun that points back at the subject. Sometimes that makes obvious sense — ich wasche mich, I wash myself. Often it does not: sich ärgern means to be annoyed, and there is nothing in the English to tell you a pronoun is coming. For those, sich is simply part of the verb, and you learn it with the verb the way you learn a noun with its article.
The pronouns
| Accusative | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| ich | mich | ich freue mich |
| du | dich | du freust dich |
| er / sie / es | sich | er freut sich |
| wir | uns | wir freuen uns |
| ihr | euch | ihr freut euch |
| sie / Sie | sich | sie freuen sich |
Only the third person has its own word. Everywhere else the reflexive pronoun is the same one you already use as an ordinary object — mich, dich, uns, euch — which means there is very little new to memorise.
Accusative or dative — and why it matters
If the reflexive pronoun is the only object, it is accusative. If the sentence already has a direct object, the reflexive turns dative, and only the ich and du forms actually change shape: mich becomes mir, dich becomes dir.
Ich wasche mich.
I'm washing (myself).
no other object, so accusative
Ich wasche mir die Hände.
I'm washing my hands.
die Hände is the direct object, so the reflexive goes dative — mir
…wenn er sich einen Kaffee nimmt.
…when he gets himself a coffee.
einen Kaffee is the object, so sich is dative here
One verb where this changes the meaning outright is vorstellen. “Ich stelle mich vor” is I introduce myself; “ich stelle mir das vor” is I imagine that. Same verb, different case, different sentence.
The prepositions they bring with them
Many reflexive verbs come attached to a particular preposition, and it is rarely the one the English suggests. Learn the whole package — verb, pronoun, preposition — rather than the verb alone.
Ich freue mich auf das Wochenende.
I'm looking forward to the weekend.
auf + accusative = something still to come
Ich freue mich über das Geschenk.
I'm pleased about the present.
über + accusative = something that already happened
Sie hat sich bei den Kollegen entschuldigt.
She apologised to her colleagues.
sich entschuldigen bei someone, für something
Tipp · In the Perfekt, every reflexive verb takes haben — no exceptions, whatever the verb would otherwise do. “Die Kollegen haben sich geärgert”, “ich habe mich gefreut”. And the pronoun goes early, straight after the conjugated verb, not next to the participle.
Common mistakes
✗Ich ärgere über den Lärm.
✓Ich ärgere mich über den Lärm.
sich ärgern cannot drop its pronoun. Without it the verb means to annoy somebody else.
✗Ich wasche mich die Hände.
✓Ich wasche mir die Hände.
There is already a direct object (die Hände), so the reflexive becomes dative.
✗Ich bin mich gefreut.
✓Ich habe mich gefreut.
Reflexive verbs always form the Perfekt with haben, even ones that look like movement or a change of state.
✗Ich stelle mich das vor.
✓Ich stelle mir das vor.
With a direct object (das), the reflexive is dative — and this pair is a genuine meaning change: mich vorstellen is to introduce oneself.
✗Wir treffen am Bahnhof.
✓Wir treffen uns am Bahnhof.
sich treffen needs the pronoun when it means to meet each other. Without it, treffen means to hit or to meet someone else.
✗Sie hat geärgert sich.
✓Sie hat sich geärgert.
The reflexive pronoun sits right after the conjugated verb, near the front — it does not travel to the end with the participle.