Master Spanish conversation with our comprehensive guide to the most important reflexive verbs. This practical list helps you learn verbos reflexivos efficiently with clear examples and usage tips for fluent communication.
Contents
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Daily Routine & Personal Care Verbs
Master Your Morning Routine
- Despertarse – to wake up
- Me despierto a las 7 – I wake up at 7
- Levantarse – to get up
- Ella se levanta temprano – She gets up early
- Lavarse – to wash oneself
- Me lavo las manos – I wash my hands
- Ducharse – to shower
- Me ducho por la mañana – I shower in the morning
- Bañarse – to bathe
- El niño se baña por la noche – The boy bathes at night
- Cepillarse los dientes – to brush one’s teeth
- Me cepillo los dientes tres veces al día – I brush my teeth three times a day
- Peinarse – to comb one’s hair
- Me peino antes de salir – I comb my hair before going out
- Afeitarse – to shave
- Mi padre se afeita cada día – My father shaves every day
- Maquillarse – to put on makeup
- Ella se maquilla para trabajar – She puts on makeup for work
- Vestirse – to get dressed
- Nos vestimos rápido por la mañana – We get dressed quickly in the morning
- Ponerse la ropa – to put on clothes
- Me pongo la ropa después de ducharme – I put on clothes after showering
- Quitarse la ropa – to take off clothes
- Me quito la ropa antes de dormir – I take off my clothes before sleeping
- Secarse – to dry off
- Me seco con una toalla – I dry off with a towel
- Mirarse al espejo – to look at oneself in the mirror
- Me miro al espejo cada mañana – I look at myself in the mirror every morning
- Cortarse el pelo – to cut one’s hair
- Me corto el pelo cada mes – I cut my hair every month
Health & Wellness Verbs
Stay Healthy in Spanish
- Limpiarse – to clean oneself
- Me limpio después de comer – I clean myself after eating
- Cuidarse – to take care of oneself
- Es importante cuidarse – It’s important to take care of yourself
- Relajarse – to relax
- Me relajo escuchando música – I relax by listening to music
- Estirarse – to stretch
- Los atletas se estiran antes de correr – Athletes stretch before running
- Descansarse – to rest
- Descánsate un poco – Rest a little
- Enfermarse – to get sick
- Me enfermé con el frío – I got sick from the cold
- Mejorarse – to get better
- Espero que te mejores pronto – I hope you get better soon
- Protegerse – to protect oneself
- Protégete del sol – Protect yourself from the sun
- Taparse – to cover oneself
- Tápate que hace frío – Cover yourself, it’s cold
- Resfriarse – to catch a cold
- Me resfrié ayer – I caught a cold yesterday
Emotions & Feelings Verbs
Express Yourself Naturally
- Alegrarse – to become happy
- Me alegro de verte – I’m happy to see you
- Enojarse – to get angry
- No te enojes por eso – Don’t get angry about that
- Preocuparse – to worry
- Me preocupo por el examen – I worry about the exam
- Asustarse – to get scared
- El niño se asusta con las películas de terror – The boy gets scared by horror movies
- Sorprenderse – to be surprised
- Me sorprendió la noticia – The news surprised me
- Calmarse – to calm down
- Cálmate, todo está bien – Calm down, everything is fine
- Disgustarse – to get upset
- Se disgustó con su amigo – He got upset with his friend
- Emocionarse – to get excited
- Me emociono con los deportes – I get excited about sports
- Aburrirse – to get bored
- Me aburro en clase – I get bored in class
- Sentirse – to feel
- Me siento feliz hoy – I feel happy today
Movement & Action Verbs
Describe Physical Actions
- Sentarse – to sit down
- Siéntate aquí, por favor – Sit down here, please
- Pararse – to stand up
- Párate cuando entre el profesor – Stand up when the teacher enters
- Acostarse – to lie down / go to bed
- Me acuesto a las 11 – I go to bed at 11
- Dormirse – to fall asleep
- El bebé se duerme con música – The baby falls asleep with music
- Desvestirse – to undress
- Me desvisto antes de bañarme – I undress before bathing
- Moverse – to move oneself
- ¡Muévete más rápido! – Move faster!
- Esconderse – to hide
- El gato se esconde debajo de la cama – The cat hides under the bed
- Caerse – to fall down
- Ten cuidado, no te caigas – Be careful, don’t fall down
- Subirse – to climb up
- Me subo al árbol – I climb up the tree
- Bajarse – to get down
- Bájate del coche – Get down from the car
Reciprocal Actions Verbs
Talk About Relationships
- Abrazarse – to hug each other
- Los amigos se abrazan al encontrarse – Friends hug each other when they meet
- Besarse – to kiss each other
- Los novios se besan – The boyfriend and girlfriend kiss each other
- Saludarse – to greet each other
- Nos saludamos cada mañana – We greet each other every morning
- Ayudarse – to help each other
- Los hermanos se ayudan con la tarea – The siblings help each other with homework
- Conocerse – to meet each other
- Nos conocimos en la universidad – We met each other in university
- Quererse – to love each other
- Mis padres se quieren mucho – My parents love each other very much
- Mirarse – to look at each other
- Se miran a los ojos – They look at each other’s eyes
- Pelearse – to fight each other
- Los niños se pelean por el juguete – The children fight over the toy
- Reunirse – to get together
- Nos reunimos los viernes – We get together on Fridays
- Separarse – to separate from each other
- La pareja se separó – The couple separated from each other
Mental & Cognitive Verbs
Express Thoughts and Realizations
- Acordarse de – to remember
- Me acuerdo de mi infancia – I remember my childhood
- Olvidarse de – to forget
- Siempre me olvido de las llaves – I always forget the keys
- Darse cuenta de – to realize
- Me di cuenta del error – I realized the mistake
- Imaginarse – to imagine
- Imagínate en la playa – Imagine yourself on the beach
- Preguntarse – to wonder
- Me pregunto qué pasará – I wonder what will happen
Verbs with Multiple Meanings
Understand Context Usage
- Irse – to leave / go away
- Me voy de la casa – I leave the house
- Volverse – to become (sudden change)
- Se volvió famoso – He became famous
- Quedarse – to stay / remain
- Me quedo en casa – I stay at home
- Convertirse en – to become (transformation)
- Se convirtió en doctor – He became a doctor
- Casarse – to get married
- Se casaron el año pasado – They got married last year
Essential Advanced Verbs
Sound Like a Native Speaker
- Atreverse – to dare
- ¿Te atreves a hacerlo? – Do you dare to do it?
- Quejarse – to complain
- Se queja del clima – He complains about the weather
- Arrepentirse – to regret
- Me arrepiento de no estudiar – I regret not studying
- Burlarse de – to mock/make fun of
- No te burles de los demás – Don’t make fun of others
- Divertirse – to have fun
- Nos divertimos en la fiesta – We have fun at the party
- Portarse bien/mal – to behave well/badly
- El niño se porta bien – The boy behaves well
- Equivocarse – to make a mistake
- Todos nos equivocamos a veces – We all make mistakes sometimes
- Lastimarse – to hurt oneself
- Me lastimé la pierna – I hurt my leg
- Mudarse – to move (change residence)
- Nos mudamos a otra ciudad – We moved to another city
- Desmayarse – to faint
- Se desmayó por el calor – She fainted from the heat
Practical Usage Verbs
Everyday Communication
- Apurarse – to hurry up
- ¡Apúrate que llegamos tarde! – Hurry up, we’re late!
- Despedirse – to say goodbye
- Me despido de mis amigos – I say goodbye to my friends
- Enterarse – to find out
- Me enteré de la noticia ayer – I found out about the news yesterday
- Fijarse – to notice/pay attention
- Fíjate en los detalles – Pay attention to the details
- Marearse – to get dizzy
- Me mareo en el coche – I get dizzy in the car
- Ocuparse – to take care of (a matter)
- Me ocupo del problema – I take care of the problem
- Prepararse – to prepare oneself
- Me preparo para el examen – I prepare myself for the exam
- Quedarse sorprendido – to be surprised
- Me quedé sorprendido con la noticia – I was surprised by the news
- Recuperarse – to recover
- Se recuperó de la enfermedad – He recovered from the illness
- Referirse – to refer to
- Me refiero a tu hermano – I’m referring to your brother
Advanced & Idiomatic Verbs
Native-level Expressions
- Reírse – to laugh
- Me río con sus chistes – I laugh at his jokes
- Resbalarse – to slip
- Cuidado, te puedes resbalar – Careful, you might slip
- Romperse – to break (something on oneself)
- Se rompió el brazo – He broke his arm
- Subirse – to get on/into (a vehicle)
- Me subo al autobús – I get on the bus
- Tranquilizarse – to calm down
- Trata de tranquilizarte – Try to calm down
- Tratarse de – to be about
- Se trata de un problema serio – It’s about a serious problem
- Venirse – to come (toward speaker)
- Vente con nosotros – Come with us
- Volverse – to turn around/become
- Se volvió para mirarme – He turned around to look at me
- Zambullirse – to dive in
- Se zambulló en la piscina – He dove into the pool
- Animarse – to cheer up/get encouraged
- ¡Anímate que puedes hacerlo! – Cheer up, you can do it!
- Apoderarse de – to take possession of
- Se apoderó de la empresa – He took possession of the company
- Comportarse – to behave
- Compórtate bien – Behave well
- Confundirse – to get confused
- Me confundo con las instrucciones – I get confused with the instructions
- Dedicarse a – to dedicate oneself to
- Se dedica a la enseñanza – He dedicates himself to teaching
- Desesperarse – to despair
– No te desesperes – Don’t despair
Practice Tips for Mastery
Learn Faster with These Strategies
1. Group by Category – Learn related verbs together (daily routines, emotions, etc.)
2. Use in Sentences – Practice with personal examples from your life
3. Focus on Pronouns – Master me/te/se/nos/os placement in different contexts
4. Daily Practice – Use 5 new verbs each day in conversation
5. Listen and Repeat – Improve pronunciation with audio resources
6. Create Associations – Connect verbs to specific daily activities
Quick Reference Guide
Essential Categories for Daily Use
Morning Routine: despertarse, levantarse, lavarse, ducharse, vestirse
Evening Routine: desvestirse, acostarse, dormirse
Personal Care: peinarse, afeitarse, maquillarse, cepillarse los dientes
Emotions: alegrarse, enojarse, preocuparse, calmarse
Health: cuidarse, relajarse, enfermarse, mejorarse
Social Interactions: saludarse, abrazarse, conocerse, ayudarse
Movement: sentarse, pararse, moverse, caerse
Next Steps for Fluency
Ready to test your knowledge? Take our interactive Spanish Reflexive Verbs Quiz to practice what you’ve learned.
Need to review the basics? Read our complete Mastering Reflexive Verbs Guide for conjugation rules and usage tips.
Want more practice? Use our Reflexive Verbs Conjugation Tool for any verb in any tense.
Master these 100 reflexive verbs and you’ll significantly improve your Spanish fluency and sound more natural in conversations!
