The Reflexive Pronoun Si | Esperanto Grammar

Esperanto si is a special third-person reflexive pronoun. It points back to the subject of its own clause: Ŝi lavas sin means that she washes herself, while Ŝi lavas ŝin means that she washes another woman. This contrast is part of the foundational norm of Esperanto, not an optional stylistic preference.

The system is regular once three limits are clear: si is only third person, it cannot itself be the subject, and it does not reach out of its own clause.

All core uses on this page are neutral in both conversation and writing. A few exceptional first- or second-person uses occur in very old texts, but they are nonstandard and wrong in modern Esperanto.

What si means

Use the reflexive when a third-person subject appears again in another role in the same clause. The antecedent may be singular or plural, human or nonhuman, and of any gender.

Post la kurado, Leo lavis sin kaj ŝanĝis la ĉemizon.

After the run, Leo washed himself and changed his shirt.

La infanoj vestis sin sen helpo.

The children dressed themselves without help.

La kato rigardis sin en la spegulo.

The cat looked at itself in the mirror.

The form does not show gender or number. Sin can mean himself, herself, itself, or themselves because the subject supplies those features.

Role	Form	Example
subject	never si	li, ŝi, ĝi, ili, oni
direct object	sin	Ŝi vidas sin.
after an ordinary preposition	si	Ŝi parolas pri si.
possessive	sia plus agreement	Ŝi prenis sian sakon.

This page focuses on si/sin. Its possessive partner is covered in The Possessive Sia.

Sin versus lin, ŝin, ĝin, and ilin

The reflexive contrast lets Esperanto state whether two roles belong to the same participant. Ordinary third-person pronouns point away from the subject; sin points back to it.

Marta fotis sin antaŭ la koncerto.

Marta photographed herself before the concert.

Marta fotis ŝin antaŭ la koncerto.

Marta photographed her before the concert.

In the second sentence, ŝin cannot refer to Marta in standard Esperanto; it refers to another female person already recoverable from context.

La aktoroj prezentis sin, kaj poste la reĝisoro prezentis ilin al la publiko.

The actors introduced themselves, and then the director introduced them to the audience.

First the actors are both subject and object, so sin is required. In the next clause, la reĝisoro is the subject and the actors are different from that subject, so ilin is required.

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Find the finite verb and its subject. If the intended object is that same third-person participant, use sin. If it is someone or something else, use lin, ŝin, ĝin, or ilin.

First and second person repeat their pronouns

English uses the series myself, yourself, ourselves. Esperanto does not use si for those meanings. First and second person simply repeat the ordinary pronoun, adding -n if it is a direct object.

Mi vidis min en la fenestro kaj rimarkis mian ĉapelon.

I saw myself in the window and noticed my hat.

Ni preparis nin por longa atendado.

We prepared ourselves for a long wait.

Ĉu vi aŭdas vin bone en la registrado?

Can you hear yourself clearly in the recording?

The same logic applies after prepositions: pri mi “about myself,” por ni “for ourselves,” inter vi “among yourselves.” Si is not a universal “self” word.

Si after prepositions

After an ordinary preposition, use bare si, because the preposition already marks its role.

Ŝi ne ŝatas paroli pri si.

She doesn't like talking about herself.

La avino tenis la infanon proksime al si.

The grandmother kept the child close to herself.

La du amikoj dividis la laboron inter si.

The two friends divided the work between themselves.

Do not add -n after pri, al, kun, por, de, or another ordinary preposition just because English uses an object form. Directional -n after local prepositions is a separate rule explained on Pronouns after Prepositions.

Why si cannot be the subject

Si gets its reference from the subject, so it cannot fill that very subject position. A sentence needs an independently identifiable subject first: li, ŝi, ĝi, ili, oni, a name, or a noun phrase.

Oni devas zorgi pri si, ne nur pri aliaj.

One must take care of oneself, not only of others.

Here oni supplies the third-person subject and si refers back to it. The rule also applies inside a coordinated subject:

Karlo kaj lia frato jam alvenis.

Karlo and his brother have already arrived.

Not Karlo kaj sia frato: sia frato would be part of the subject, but sia needs a subject outside itself. Compare a different structure:

Karlo kun sia frato jam alvenis.

Karlo, with his brother, has already arrived.

Now Karlo alone is the grammatical subject, and kun sia frato is a prepositional phrase. The reflexive can therefore point back to Karlo.

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A useful test is to remove the reflexive phrase. In Karlo kun sia frato alvenis, removing it leaves the complete subject Karlo. In Karlo kaj sia frato alvenis, the possessive sits inside the coordinated subject and is not licensed.

Reflexive meaning is not emphasis

Si marks coreference; mem adds emphasis such as “personally” or “without help.” They can occur together, but they do different work.

La kuracisto mem telefonis al mi, sed li ne parolis pri si mem.

The doctor himself called me, but he did not talk about himself.

The first mem emphasizes the subject. Pri si supplies the reflexive relation, and the second mem emphasizes that reflexive. In ordinary neutral use, do not add mem unless contrast or emphasis is intended.

The local-clause limit

In a simple clause, the subject is usually easy to find. A finite subordinate clause introduced by ke, kiu, or a similar word creates a new local domain. When that subordinate clause has a subject, si refers to that subject, never directly to the main-clause subject.

Lina diris, ke Marko vidis sin en la foto.

Lina said that Marko saw himself in the photo.

Sin refers to Marko, the subject of vidis, not to Lina. To refer to Lina, use ŝin. This boundary is developed fully in Clause Boundaries for Si.

The rules for infinitives and participles involve additional structure and accepted variation. Learn them on their dedicated pages rather than guessing from English.

Common Mistakes

1. Using si as a subject

❌ Si atendos ĉe la enirejo.

Incorrect — si cannot be the subject.

✅ Ŝi atendos ĉe la enirejo.

She will wait at the entrance.

2. Using sin for first person

❌ Mi vidis sin en la spegulo.

Incorrect — first person repeats mi with object -n.

✅ Mi vidis min en la spegulo.

I saw myself in the mirror.

3. Repeating an ordinary pronoun for the same third-person subject

❌ Eva lavis ŝin.

Incorrect for the intended meaning that Eva washed herself; ŝin means another woman.

✅ Eva lavis sin.

Eva washed herself.

4. Putting si inside its own subject

❌ Petro kaj sia kolego prezentos la projekton.

Incorrect — sia kolego is part of the subject.

✅ Petro kaj lia kolego prezentos la projekton.

Petro and his colleague will present the project.

5. Reaching across a clause boundary

❌ Sofia petis, ke mi helpu sin.

Incorrect if sin is intended to refer to Sofia.

✅ Sofia petis, ke mi helpu ŝin.

Sofia asked me to help her.

Key Takeaways

Si/sin refers back to a third-person subject in the same local clause.
Use sin as a direct object and si after an ordinary preposition.
For first and second person, use min, nin, vin or basic mi, ni, vi after a preposition.
Si cannot be a subject or occur inside an ordinary subject phrase.
Use mem for emphasis; it does not replace the grammatical work of si.

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