GrammatikReflexive Verben

Reflexive Verben

In Russian, some verbs are reflexive. This means the action is directed back to the subject itself. Reflexive verbs are marked by the ending -ся or -сь. You can see the full list here.

What are reflexive verbs?

A reflexive verb describes an action where the subject and the object are the same person or thing.

• мыть (to wash something) → мы́ться (to wash oneself)
• одева́ть (to dress someone) → одева́ться (to get dressed)

Examples:

• Я мо́ю ру́ки. (I wash my hands.)
• Я мо́юсь. (I wash myself.)
• Он одева́ет ребёнка. (He dresses the child.)
• Он одева́ется. (He gets dressed.)

Form: -ся and -сь

Reflexive verbs always end in -ся or -сь:

• -ся after consonants: учи́ться
• -сь after vowels: учу́сь, одева́юсь

The choice is purely phonetic and does not change meaning.

Important pairs

Many verbs exist in pairs: non-reflexive and reflexive, often with the same meaning.

• учи́ть (to teach / learn something) → учи́ться (to study, to learn)
• открыва́ть (to open something) → открыва́ться (to open, to be opening)

Conjugation

Reflexive verbs conjugate like normal verbs, with -ся/-сь added at the end.

Example: мы́ться (to wash oneself)

• я мо́юсь
• ты мо́ешься
• он/она́ мо́ется
• мы мо́емся
• вы мо́етесь
• они́ мо́ются

Main meanings of reflexive verbs

1. True reflexive (doing something to oneself)

• мы́ться (to wash oneself)
• бри́ться (to shave oneself)
• одева́ться (to get dressed)

These often correspond to English “myself / yourself / himself”, but Russian usually does not use a separate word.

2. Reciprocal actions (each other)

The action happens between multiple people.

• встреча́ться (to meet each other / to date)
• обнима́ться (to hug each other)
• целова́ться (to kiss each other)

Example:

• Они́ обнима́ются. (They hug each other.)

3. Passive or “happening by itself”

The action happens without a clear agent, or the subject undergoes the action.

• дверь открыва́ется (the door opens / is opening)
• кни́га чита́ется легко́ (the book reads easily)

4. State or change of state

The verb describes entering a state or condition.

• успоко́иться (to calm down)
• разозли́ться (to get angry)
• улыба́ться (to smile)

5. Verbs that exist only in reflexive form

Some verbs do not exist without -ся and must simply be learned as reflexive:

• боя́ться (to be afraid)
• наде́яться (to hope)
• смея́ться (to laugh)

Reflexive verbs and objects

Many reflexive verbs do not take a direct object in the Accusative, because the action already refers back to the subject.

• Я мо́юсь. (I wash myself.)

However, some reflexive verbs can still take other complements:

• Я интересу́юсь му́зыкой. (I am interested in music.)
• Он занима́ется спо́ртом. (He does sports.)

Summary

• Reflexive verbs end in -ся or -сь.
• They often mean the subject does the action to itself.
• They can also express:
  • mutual actions (each other)
  • passive or spontaneous actions
  • states or changes
• Some verbs exist only in reflexive form.
• Reflexive verbs conjugate like normal verbs, with -ся/-сь added.