Italian Reflexive Verbs: 30 Everyday Verbs (A2)

🇮🇹 Italian · 30 cards · A2 · by Giulia Ferrante

Reflexive verbs are the point where Italian gets personal: you don't just wake up, you wake yourself up. These are the thirty I hear every day in Bologna, starting with the morning routine (svegliarsi, lavarsi, vestirsi) and moving on to feelings and reactions (arrabbiarsi, preoccuparsi, accorgersi). Three things trip my students up: the pronoun changes with the person (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si); the passato prossimo always takes essere, with the participle agreeing (mi sono alzato / mi sono alzata); and some of these verbs, like accorgersi and vergognarsi, only exist with the pronoun. Learn each card as a whole phrase, out loud, never as a bare infinitive.

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All 30 cards

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1chiamarsi
Literally "to call oneself". Formal/polite: come si chiama?
to be called, to be named
Piacere, come ti chiami?
Nice to meet you, what's your name?
2svegliarsi
Without the pronoun, svegliare means to wake someone else up: sveglia tuo fratello.
to wake up
Domani mi sveglio alle sei.
Tomorrow I'm waking up at six.
3alzarsi
Covers both getting out of bed and standing up from a chair.
to get up, to stand up
La domenica mi alzo tardi.
On Sundays I get up late.
4lavarsi
With body parts Italian uses the article, not the possessive: lavarsi i denti, lavarsi le mani.
to wash (oneself)
Lavati le mani prima di mangiare.
Wash your hands before eating.
5vestirsi
For a single garment use mettersi: mettersi il maglione.
to get dressed
Vestiti, siamo già in ritardo!
Get dressed, we're already late!
6prepararsi
Also used for studying: prepararsi per un esame / a un esame.
to get ready
Dammi dieci minuti, mi preparo.
Give me ten minutes, I'll get ready.
7pettinarsi
No need to add i capelli; it is understood.
to comb one's hair
Stamattina non si è nemmeno pettinato.
This morning he didn't even comb his hair.
8truccarsi
The noun is il trucco (make-up).
to put on make-up
Si trucca solo per le occasioni speciali.
She only puts on make-up for special occasions.
9sedersi
Irregular: mi siedo, ti siedi, si siede, ci sediamo, vi sedete, si siedono. Polite form: si sieda, prego.
to sit down
Vieni, siediti qui accanto a me.
Come on, sit down here next to me.
10divertirsi
Buon divertimento! is what you say to someone going out.
to have fun, to enjoy oneself
Ci siamo divertiti un sacco ieri sera.
We had a great time last night.
11annoiarsi
Non-reflexive annoiare means to bore someone (not "to annoy" – that is infastidire, dare fastidio).
to get bored
Mi annoio a morte in questa riunione.
I'm bored to death in this meeting.
12riposarsi
Riposare also exists, but with people the pronominal form is far more common in speech.
to rest, to have a rest
Riposati un po', hai lavorato tutto il giorno.
Rest a bit, you've worked all day.
13rilassarsi
Rilassati! is also used to tell someone to calm down.
to relax
Dopo cena mi rilasso sul divano.
After dinner I relax on the sofa.
14addormentarsi
Dormire is to sleep; addormentarsi is the moment you drop off. Participle agrees: addormentato / addormentata.
to fall asleep
Mi sono addormentata davanti alla TV.
I fell asleep in front of the TV.
15arrabbiarsi
Get angry with someone: arrabbiarsi con qualcuno.
to get angry
Mia madre si arrabbia se torno tardi.
My mother gets angry if I come home late.
16innamorarsi
Always innamorarsi di qualcuno, never con.
to fall in love
Si è innamorato di lei subito.
He fell in love with her straight away.
17sposarsi
Marry someone: sposarsi con qualcuno, or sposare qualcuno (non-reflexive, takes avere).
to get married
Si sposano a giugno in campagna.
They're getting married in June in the countryside.
18sentirsi
Followed by an adverb or adjective: mi sento stanco, mi sento meglio. Sentirsi con qualcuno = to be in touch with someone.
to feel (a certain way)
Oggi non mi sento molto bene.
I don't feel very well today.
19trovarsi
Also "to feel comfortable somewhere": mi trovo bene a Bologna.
to be located, to find oneself
Il bagno si trova in fondo al corridoio.
The toilet is at the end of the corridor.
20ricordarsi
Ricordarsi di + noun or infinitive. Non-reflexive ricordare works too: non ricordo il suo nome.
to remember
Non mi ricordo dove ho messo le chiavi.
I don't remember where I put the keys.
21dimenticarsi
Dimenticarsi di qualcosa / di fare qualcosa; the plain verb dimenticare is equally common.
to forget
Mi sono dimenticata di chiamare il dentista.
I forgot to call the dentist.
22preoccuparsi
Worry about: preoccuparsi per or di. Very frequent in the negative imperative: non ti preoccupare / non preoccuparti.
to worry
Non preoccuparti, arrivo subito.
Don't worry, I'll be right there.
23sbrigarsi
Colloquial and extremely common as a command. Only pronominal.
to hurry up
Sbrigati, il treno parte tra cinque minuti!
Hurry up, the train leaves in five minutes!
24fermarsi
Non-reflexive fermare = to stop something or someone. Mi fermo due giorni a Roma = I'm staying two days in Rome.
to stop, to stay (briefly)
Ci fermiamo a prendere un caffè?
Shall we stop for a coffee?
25mettersi
Mettersi a + infinitive = to start: si è messo a piovere.
to put on (clothes), to start doing
Mettiti la giacca, fuori fa freddo.
Put your jacket on, it's cold outside.
26lamentarsi
Lamentarsi di qualcosa, lamentarsi con qualcuno. Used only in pronominal form in everyday Italian.
to complain
Si lamenta sempre del traffico di Milano.
He always complains about the traffic in Milan.
27vergognarsi
Vergognati! means "shame on you!" (strong). Only pronominal; vergognarsi di qualcosa.
to be embarrassed, to be ashamed
Mi vergogno un po' del mio inglese.
I'm a bit embarrassed about my English.
28abituarsi
Always abituarsi a + noun or infinitive: abituarsi a svegliarsi presto.
to get used to
Non mi abituo al freddo di qui.
I can't get used to the cold here.
29perdersi
Irregular participle: perso. Also "to miss out on": mi sono perso il finale.
to get lost
Ci siamo persi nel centro storico.
We got lost in the old town.
30accorgersi
Accorgersi di qualcosa or accorgersi che + verb. Irregular participle: accorto. Only pronominal.
to notice, to realise
Scusa, non mi sono accorto che era così tardi.
Sorry, I didn't realise it was so late.
Giulia Ferrante
Native Italian · Speaks English, French

From Bologna, where the food vocabulary alone could fill a deck. I teach Italian to travellers and expats and build decks around the situations they land in first.

Published

Questions about this deck

Which auxiliary do Italian reflexive verbs take in the passato prossimo?
Always essere, and the past participle agrees with the subject: mi sono alzato / mi sono alzata, ci siamo divertiti / ci siamo divertite. This holds even for verbs that take avere in their non-reflexive form: ho lavato la macchina, but mi sono lavato le mani.
Where does the reflexive pronoun go with dovere, potere and volere?
You have two correct options: attach the pronoun to the infinitive (devo alzarmi presto, voglio rilassarmi) or put it before the modal (mi devo alzare presto, mi voglio rilassare). Both are standard and equally common in speech. After a preposition only the attached form works: prima di vestirti.
Why is it "mi lavo le mani" and not "lavo le mie mani"?
When a reflexive verb acts on your own body, the pronoun already says whose body it is, so Italian uses the definite article instead of a possessive: mi lavo i denti, si è rotto il braccio, si mette il cappotto. "Lavo le mie mani" is understandable but sounds translated.
Are all thirty of these verbs truly reflexive?
No. Some are genuinely reflexive (lavarsi, vestirsi, pettinarsi: you do it to yourself). Others are pronominal verbs that simply require the pronoun with no reflexive meaning at all: accorgersi, vergognarsi, lamentarsi, sbrigarsi. A third group changes meaning with the pronoun: fermare is to stop something, fermarsi is to stop yourself; svegliare is to wake someone, svegliarsi is to wake up.

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