The German language has many different pronouns for every occasion and situation. In English we use them too, but make do with far fewer of them. But don´t be intimidated. It is very likely, that you have come across and even used them already.
In this article, we'll take a look at German reflexive pronouns---what they are, and how you can use them.
The German reflexive pronouns in brief
Reflexive pronouns always refer to the subject of the sentence. They are only used in the dative and accusative case. They are commonly used in conjunction with reflexive verbs.
Don´t worry if you are not familiar with some of the grammatical terms, we will look at each one in detail.
What is a pronoun?
A pronoun is usually specific to subjects or objects (nouns). Pronouns are used to define or even replace the subject of a sentence.
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| personal pronoun | Ich sehe einen Film. | I watch a movie. |
| reflexive pronoun | Ich sehe mich im Spiegel. | I watch myself in the mirror. |
| possessive pronoun | Das ist meiner. | That is mine. |
| demonstrative pronoun | Dieser gefällt mir. | This one I like. |
| relative pronoun | Der Film, den ich sehe… | The film, that I watch... |
| possessive pronoun | Welcher ist dein Hut. | Which one is your hat? |
What are reflexive verbs?
Before we get to the reflexive pronouns, we have to talk about reflexive verbs, because they are intrinsically linked. In English these are usually verbs combined with words ending in -self, or -selves.
To bore oneself. You amuse yourself. They behaved themselves.True reflexive verbs & pronouns
German has quite a few reflexive verbs compared to English, and some of them can only be used together with a reflexive pronoun. The pronoun is part of the verb. In this case we call them true reflexive verbs and true reflexive pronouns. In the infinite form these verbs are always preceded with the word sich.
sich beeilen Ich beeile michIch beeile Ich beeile den Hund!
to hurry I hurry this is incomplete No, no, no!
Optional reflexive verbs & pronouns
These are verbs, where the reflexive pronoun is just an optional addition. The verb can also be used without the pronoun, and the pronoun can also be replaced with another word.
| malen | Ich male mich | Ich male | Ich male den Hund |
| to paint | I paint myself | I paint | I paint the dog |
List of the most important true reflexive verbs
Physical/emotional
| sich ausruhen | to rest |
| sich erholen | to recover |
| sich erkälten | to get a cold |
| sich krank/gut/schlecht fühlen | to feel sick/good/bad |
| sich sehnen nach | to long for |
| sich schämen | to be ashamed, to be embarrassed |
| sich sorgen um | to be worried about |
Human interaction
| sich anfreunden | to befriend |
| sich kümmern um | to look after |
| sich streiten | to argue |
| sich verabreden | to arrange to meet |
| sich verhalten | to act, to behave |
| sich verstehen | to get along |
| sich vertragen | to make up |
Opinion/decision making
| sich einigen auf | to agree on something |
| sich entscheiden für/gegen | to decide to/against |
| sich irren | to err |
Work
| sich bewerben | to apply for |
| sich eignen für/zu | to be suited for/to |
Communication/verbal interaction
| sich bedanken bei | to thank someone |
| sich beklagen | to complain |
| sich beschweren | to complain |
| sich erkundigen | to inquire |
| sich weigern | to refuse |
Others
| sich befinden | to be located |
| sich ereignen | to happen |
German reflexive pronouns in dative and accusative
Good news, if you already know personal pronouns—the reflexive form nearly always closely relates to the personal. Irregular exceptions are:
1. Person singular (er/sie/es and sich) and
2. Person plural (sie/Sie and sich)
| reflexive pronouns | ||
| Dative | Accusative | |
| ich | mir | mich |
| du | dir | dich |
| er/sie/es | sich | sich |
| wir | uns | uns |
| ihr | euch | euch |
| sie/Sie | sich | sich |
Choosing the correct case and forming sentences
The reflexive pronoun always relates to the subject.
Deciding whether to use the reflexive pronoun in the dative or accusative case is actually easy.
If you can replace the reflexive pronoun with another word or leave it out, use the dative.
If it is a true reflexive pronoun and cannot be replaced with another word, use the accusative.| dative Ich kaufe mir ein Eis. I buy myself an ice-cream. | Ich kaufe nichts. I buy nothing. | accusative Ich streite mich. I argue. |
| Du kaufst dir ein Fahrrad. You buy yourself a bike. | Du kaufst dem Kind ein Fahrrad. You buy the child a bike. | Du streitest dich jeden Tag. You argue every day. |
| Er kauft sich ein Geschenk He buys himself a present. | Er kauft ein Geschenk. He buys a present. | Er streitet sich nicht. He does not argue. |
| Wir kaufen uns ein Haus. We buy ourselves a house. | Wir kaufen viel. We buy a lot. | Wir streiten uns mir dir. We argue with you. |
| Ihr kauft euch ein Auto. You buy yourself a car. | Ihr kauft ein Auto. You buy a car. | Ihr streitet euch ungern. You argue reluctantly. |
| Sie kaufen sich alles. They buy themselves everything | Sie kaufen alles. They buy everything. | Sie streiten sich oft. They argue often. |
Oddity: reciprocal verbs and pronouns
To express the correlation between several people, objects, or groups, reciprocal verbs are used. Reciprocal verbs are mostly plural and also use the reflexive pronoun, but here the reflexive pronoun means each other.
As with the reflexive verb, there are true reciprocal verbs, exclusively used with a pronoun, and optional ones.
True reciprocal verbs
| Die Frauen haben sich verstanden. | The women understood each other. |
Optional reciprocal verbs
| Die Geschwister ähneln sich. (reciprocal) | The siblings look like each other. |
| Das Kind ähnelt der Mutter. (non-reciprocal) | The child looks like the mother. |
Conclusion
Reflexive pronouns are always used with reflexive verbs. True reflexive verbs are exclusively used with reflexive pronouns, optional ones with or without. If you start learning the infinite forms of reflexive verbs including the word sich, you quickly gain more confidence in using them.
The German reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of the sentence, and can be in the dative or accusative case. They are easy to mix up, but not difficult to learn. Don´t be afraid to make mistakes, and start to enjoy these quirks of the German language.
