What are the reflexive pronouns in French?

Me, te, se, nous, vous and se, matching je, tu, il or elle, nous, vous and ils or elles. They elide before a vowel: je m'habille, tu t'ennuies, elle s'appelle. Se covers both the third-person singular and the third-person plural.

Why do French verbs use reflexive pronouns when English doesn't?

Because many French verbs are pronominal by nature rather than by meaning. Se lever, se souvenir, se dépêcher and se rendre compte all carry the pronoun as part of the verb, and dropping it either changes the meaning or produces nothing at all.

Which auxiliary do reflexive verbs take in the past?

Always être: je me suis lavé, nous nous sommes vus, elles se sont écrit. This holds even for verbs that take avoir in their non-reflexive form, so il a lavé la voiture but il s'est lavé.

When does the past participle agree with a reflexive pronoun?

When that pronoun is the direct object of the verb: elle s'est levée. If another direct object follows, the pronoun becomes indirect and there's no agreement: elle s'est lavé les mains. Verbs that take à behave the same way: ils se sont parlé.

Can se mean each other?

Yes, whenever the subject is plural. Ils se regardent can mean they're looking at themselves or they're looking at each other, and context normally settles it. To be explicit you add l'un l'autre: ils s'aident l'un l'autre.

French grammar · Intermediate

French Reflexive Pronouns: Me, Te, Se and What They Do to the Verb

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

The reflexive pronouns are me, te, se, nous, vous and se. They point the verb back at its own subject, so je me lave means I wash myself. They also carry the reciprocal meaning each other, and they turn ordinary verbs into pronominal ones whose auxiliary in the past is être rather than avoir.

Je me lève à six heures et nous nous retrouvons devant la gare.

I get up at six and we meet in front of the station.

What it is

A reflexive pronoun tells you that the subject and the object of the verb are the same person. English marks this with myself and yourself, but only when it needs to; French marks it with a pronoun that is part of the verb itself, and it does so far more often. Se lever, se souvenir and se dépêcher all carry one, even though English gets up, remembers and hurries with nothing attached.

Il se regarde dans le miroir. — He's looking at himself in the mirror.

How to spot it

The reflexive pronoun always matches the subject in person: je goes with me, tu with te, il and ils with se. If the pronoun doesn't match the subject, it isn't reflexive.

Je me couche tôt. — I go to bed early. (je + me)
Tu te trompes. — You're mistaken. (tu + te)
Elle s'habille vite. — She gets dressed quickly. (elle + s')
Ils se disputent souvent. — They argue a lot. (ils + se)

Compare il se lave, he's washing himself, with il le lave, he's washing it. Changing one letter changes who is being washed, and the reflexive is the one where the pronoun echoes the subject.

Reflexive Pronouns Quick Reference

The reflexive pronouns and their matching subjects

Subject	Reflexive	Before a vowel	Example
je	me	m'	je m'ennuie — I'm bored
tu	te	t'	tu t'inquiètes — you're worrying
il / elle / on	se	s'	elle s'appelle — her name is
nous	nous	nous	nous nous levons — we get up
vous	vous	vous	vous vous asseyez — you sit down
ils / elles	se	s'	ils s'écrivent — they write to each other
infinitive	se	s'	se dépêcher — to hurry

Common Reflexive Pronouns Examples in French

The four things reflexive pronouns are used for:

Genuinely Reflexive Actions

Je me lave les cheveux le soir.: I wash my hair in the evening.
Il se rase tous les matins.: He shaves every morning.
Elle s'est coupée en cuisinant.: She cut herself while cooking.
Nous nous habillons pour sortir.: We're getting dressed to go out.

Here the subject really is doing something to itself, and English would accept myself or herself in the same slot.

Verbs That Are Simply Pronominal

Je me souviens de ce jour.: I remember that day.
Dépêche-toi, on est en retard.: Hurry up, we're late.
Elle se rend compte du problème.: She realises there's a problem.
Tu te moques de moi ?: Are you making fun of me?

There's no reflexive idea here at all: se souvenir just is the verb for to remember. These have to be learned with the pronoun attached.

Reciprocal: Each Other

Ils se téléphonent chaque soir.: They phone each other every evening.
Nous nous connaissons depuis l'école.: We've known each other since school.
Elles se sont rencontrées à Lille.: They met each other in Lille.
Vous vous ressemblez beaucoup.: You look a lot like each other.

The form is identical to the reflexive; only the plural subject and the context make it reciprocal. L'un l'autre can be added if it really matters.

Se With a Passive Sense

Ce vin se boit frais.: This wine is drunk chilled.
Ça se voit tout de suite.: You can tell straight away.
Comment ça s'écrit ?: How is that spelled?
Ce mot ne se dit plus.: That word isn't used any more.

French avoids the passive by making the thing the subject and adding se. This is extremely common in instructions, recipes and general statements.

How Reflexive Pronouns Work

The pronoun looks small, but it changes the auxiliary, the agreement and sometimes the meaning of the verb.

The Pronoun Matches the Subject

Unlike an object pronoun, which is independent of the subject, a reflexive pronoun is determined by it. Change the subject and the pronoun changes with it, in lockstep.

Je me prépare, tu te prépares, il se prépare.

I'm getting ready, you're getting ready, he's getting ready.

je–me, tu–te, il–se.

It Sits in the Object Pronoun Slot

The reflexive pronoun goes in front of the verb, inside the ne… pas brackets, and in front of the infinitive when there are two verbs. It behaves like any other unstressed pronoun.

Je ne me souviens pas de son nom.

I don't remember his name.

ne + reflexive + verb + pas.

The Past Tense Uses Être

Every pronominal verb forms its compound tenses with être, however it behaves otherwise. Avoir is never an option, so it's je me suis levé and never j'ai me levé.

Nous nous sommes couchés très tard.

We went to bed very late.

Pronominal → être.

Agreement Depends on What the Pronoun Is Doing

If the reflexive pronoun is the direct object, the participle agrees with it. If there's another direct object in the sentence, the pronoun is indirect and nothing agrees.

Elle s'est lavée, puis elle s'est lavé les mains.

She had a wash, then she washed her hands.

No other object → agreement.

In a Positive Command, Te Becomes Toi

The reflexive pronoun moves behind the verb with a hyphen in an affirmative imperative, and te takes its stressed form. A negative command puts everything back in front.

Assieds-toi. Ne t'assieds pas là.

Sit down. Don't sit there.

lève-toi / ne te lève pas.

Common Mistakes with Reflexive Pronouns

Incorrect: J'ai me levé à sept heures. — I got up at seven.

Correct: Je me suis levé à sept heures. — I got up at seven.

Pronominal verbs form their compound tenses with être, not avoir, and the pronoun goes in front of the auxiliary rather than after it.

Incorrect: Elle se lave ses mains. — She's washing her hands.

Correct: Elle se lave les mains. — She's washing her hands.

The reflexive pronoun already tells you whose hands they are, so French uses the plain definite article. Adding a possessive is redundant and sounds wrong.

Incorrect: Nous levons tôt le dimanche. — We get up early on Sundays.

Correct: Nous nous levons tôt le dimanche. — We get up early on Sundays.

Se lever needs its pronoun, and with nous that pronoun is also nous, so the word has to appear twice. Lever on its own means to lift something.

Incorrect: Elle s'est brossée les dents. — She brushed her teeth.

Correct: Elle s'est brossé les dents. — She brushed her teeth.

Les dents is the direct object, so the reflexive pronoun is indirect and the participle can't agree with it. Compare elle s'est brossée, where se is the direct object and the e is required.

The Three Extensions

Reciprocal use, the passive se, and the agreement rule that trips up even confident writers.

Reciprocal: telling each other apart from themselves

With a plural subject, se can mean each other rather than themselves. The two readings are often both available, and French adds l'un l'autre or entre eux when it needs to be clear.

Ils se sont aidés l'un l'autre.: They helped each other.
Elles se parlent tous les jours.: They talk to each other every day.
Nous nous sommes revus par hasard.: We ran into each other again by chance.
Ils se détestent.: They hate each other.

Verbs that take à keep their indirect structure here, which is why ils se sont parlé has no agreement while ils se sont vus does.

The passive se

To say something is done without naming who does it, French can promote the thing to subject and add se. It reads as a general truth rather than as a specific event.

Ce plat se sert froid.: This dish is served cold.
Les billets se vendent en ligne.: Tickets are sold online.
Ça ne se fait pas.: That's not done.
Le pain se garde deux jours.: Bread keeps for two days.

Compare on for the same job with a human agent: on vend les billets en ligne. The se version feels more impersonal still.

Agreement with pronominal verbs

The participle agrees with the reflexive pronoun only when that pronoun is the direct object. If a direct object follows the verb, or if the verb takes à, there is no agreement.

Elle s'est levée tôt.: She got up early. (se is the direct object)
Elle s'est brossé les dents.: She brushed her teeth. (les dents is the object)
Ils se sont écrit pendant des années.: They wrote to each other for years.
Les lettres qu'ils se sont écrites sont perdues.: The letters they wrote each other are lost.

The last example agrees because the direct object, qu', has moved in front of the verb. It's the same rule that governs avoir.

Reflexive Pronouns FAQs

What are the reflexive pronouns in French?: Me, te, se, nous, vous and se, matching je, tu, il or elle, nous, vous and ils or elles. They elide before a vowel: je m'habille, tu t'ennuies, elle s'appelle. Se covers both the third-person singular and the third-person plural.
Why do French verbs use reflexive pronouns when English doesn't?: Because many French verbs are pronominal by nature rather than by meaning. Se lever, se souvenir, se dépêcher and se rendre compte all carry the pronoun as part of the verb, and dropping it either changes the meaning or produces nothing at all.
Which auxiliary do reflexive verbs take in the past?: Always être: je me suis lavé, nous nous sommes vus, elles se sont écrit. This holds even for verbs that take avoir in their non-reflexive form, so il a lavé la voiture but il s'est lavé.
When does the past participle agree with a reflexive pronoun?: When that pronoun is the direct object of the verb: elle s'est levée. If another direct object follows, the pronoun becomes indirect and there's no agreement: elle s'est lavé les mains. Verbs that take à behave the same way: ils se sont parlé.
Can se mean each other?: Yes, whenever the subject is plural. Ils se regardent can mean they're looking at themselves or they're looking at each other, and context normally settles it. To be explicit you add l'un l'autre: ils s'aident l'un l'autre.