Russian Reflexive Verbs

Reflexive Verbs

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:

(I wash my hands.)
(I wash myself.)
(He dresses the child.)
(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)

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:

(They hug each other.)

3. Passive or “happening by itself”

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

(the door opens / is opening)
(the book reads easily)

4. State or change of state

The verb describes entering a state or condition.

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.

(I wash myself.)

However, some reflexive verbs can still take other complements:

(I am interested in music.)
(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.