A reflexive verb is one whose object points back at its own subject — she washes herself, I hurry myself. Afrikaans has two kinds, and the difference matters enormously for learners. Inherent reflexives must carry a reflexive pronoun: the verb is meaningless without it, and the pronoun is not a real object you could swap out. Optional reflexives are ordinary transitive verbs that simply happen to have the subject as their object this time — you can wash yourself or wash the car. This page is the single complete lookup table for both kinds; the underlying rules are explained on reflexive verbs and inherent reflexives, so here the job is just to give you the inventory in one place.
How the pronoun works
Afrikaans has no dedicated reflexive word like German sich or Dutch zich. The reflexive is simply the ordinary object pronoun that matches the subject, and you may optionally add -self for emphasis.
| Subject | Reflexive pronoun | Emphatic |
|---|---|---|
| ek | my | myself |
| jy | jou | jouself |
| u (formal) | u | uself |
| hy | hom | homself |
| sy | haar | haarself |
| ons | ons | onsself |
| julle | julle | julleself |
| hulle | hulle | hulleself |
The inherent reflexives — must have the pronoun
These verbs always need the reflexive pronoun. There is no version of them with a different object; the pronoun is welded to the verb. Many begin with the unstressed prefixes ver- and be-, which means most of them also drop the ge- in the perfect.
| Verb | Meaning | Example | Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| jou skaam | be ashamed | Sy skaam haar. | het geskaam |
| jou haas | hurry | Ek haas my. | het gehaas |
| jou bekommer | worry | Hy bekommer hom. | het bekommer |
| jou verbeel | imagine | Jy verbeel jou dinge. | het verbeel |
| jou verbaas | be amazed | Ons verbaas ons. | het verbaas |
| jou vergis | be mistaken | Ek vergis my. | het vergis |
Sy skaam haar dood oor die foto.
She's terribly embarrassed about the photo.
Haas jou — die bus vertrek nou-nou!
Hurry up — the bus is leaving any moment!
Ek dink jy vergis jou; dit was nie Maandag nie.
I think you're mistaken; it wasn't Monday.
Hy verbeel hom dat almal na hom kyk.
He imagines that everyone is looking at him.
The collected-table approach is the whole point: this set is closed and unpredictable from English, so the efficient route is to memorise it as a block, each verb already paired with its obligatory pronoun. Notice that bekommer, verbeel, verbaas and vergis take no ge- in the perfect (het bekommer, het verbeel, het verbaas, het vergis), while the prefixless skaam and haas keep it (het geskaam, het gehaas).
Ons het ons verbaas oor hoe goed dit gegaan het.
We were amazed at how well it went.
The emotion-coloured members of this list — skaam, bekommer, verbaas, verheug — are explored from the feeling angle on emotion verbs; this table is the master inventory.
The optional reflexives — pronoun is one choice among many
These are everyday transitive verbs. When the subject acts on itself, you add the matching pronoun; when it acts on something else, you put that thing there instead. The verb is identical either way — only the object changes.
| Verb | Reflexive use | Non-reflexive use |
|---|---|---|
| was | jou was (wash yourself) | die kar was (wash the car) |
| aantrek | jou aantrek (get dressed) | die kind aantrek (dress the child) |
| voorberei | jou voorberei (prepare yourself) | die ete voorberei (prepare the meal) |
| sny | jou sny (cut yourself) | die brood sny (cut the bread) |
Trek jou warm aan — dit vries buite.
Dress warmly — it's freezing outside.
Ek het my gesny terwyl ek die ui kap.
I cut myself while chopping the onion.
Sy berei haar al weke voor vir die eksamen.
She's been preparing for the exam for weeks.
With aantrek and voorberei, watch the word order: these are separable verbs, so the prefix splits off to the clause end (trek jou warm aan, berei jou voor), but the reflexive pronoun still slots in right after the verb as a normal object.
Common mistakes
❌ Ek haas na die werk.
Incorrect — haas is inherently reflexive and needs my.
✅ Ek haas my na die werk.
I'm hurrying to work.
❌ Sy skaam sig.
Incorrect — Afrikaans has no sig; use the matching pronoun haar.
✅ Sy skaam haar.
She's ashamed.
❌ Jy vergis hom.
Incorrect (meaning: you deceive him) — the reflexive must match the subject jy.
✅ Jy vergis jou.
You're mistaken.
❌ Ons het ons gebekommer.
Incorrect — bekommer starts with unstressed be-, so no ge-.
✅ Ons het ons bekommer.
We worried.
❌ Hy trek aan hom.
Incorrect word order — the prefix goes to the end, pronoun after the verb.
✅ Hy trek hom aan.
He gets dressed.
Key takeaways
- The reflexive pronoun is the plain object pronoun matching the subject (my, jou, hom, haar, ons, julle, hulle) — never sig or zich.
- Inherent reflexives (jou skaam, jou haas, jou bekommer, jou verbeel, jou verbaas, jou vergis) must keep the pronoun; learn them as a fixed block.
- Optional reflexives (jou was, jou aantrek, jou voorberei, jou sny) are ordinary transitives — swap the pronoun for any other object.
- ver- and be- members drop the ge- in the perfect (het bekommer, het vergis); prefixless ones keep it (het geskaam, het gehaas).
- Separable optional reflexives split the prefix to the clause end but keep the pronoun next to the verb (trek jou aan).
Now practice Afrikaans
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Start learning Afrikaans→Related Topics
- Reflexive Verbs and PronounsB1 — Afrikaans builds reflexive constructions from the ordinary object pronouns (ek was my, sy skaam haar) — there is no special reflexive like Dutch zich — and -self adds emphasis.
- Inherently Reflexive VerbsB2 — A small closed set of Afrikaans verbs that obligatorily take a reflexive object although English does not — jou skaam (be ashamed), jou verbeel (imagine), jou haas (hurry).
- Emotion and Reflexive Verbs: voel, geniet, skaam, bekommer, verheugB1 — A lookup table of Afrikaans emotion verbs sorted by valency — which ones demand an obligatory reflexive pronoun (jou skaam, jou bekommer, jou verheug), which take a bare predicate like a copula (voel siek), and which take a plain object (geniet die ete).