When the object of a verb is the same person as the subject, Icelandic uses a dedicated reflexive pronoun in the third person: sig (accusative), sér (dative), sín (genitive). It is one of the most economical words in the language — a single set of three forms that covers himself, herself, itself and themselves, with no gender and no number distinctions. But it is also non-negotiable: where English can sometimes drop "-self," Icelandic cannot, because hann meiddi sig ("he hurt himself") and hann meiddi hann ("he hurt him" — another man) are two genuinely different sentences. The reflexive is what keeps them apart.
The paradigm: three forms, no nominative
There is no nominative reflexive for a simple reason — a reflexive is, by definition, never the subject. So the table starts at the accusative:
| Case | Form | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | — (none) | (a reflexive is never the subject) |
| Accusative | sig | himself / herself / itself / themselves |
| Dative | sér | (to) himself / herself / itself / themselves |
| Genitive | sín | of himself / herself / itself / themselves |
That is the entire pronoun. Sig, sér, sín do not change for masculine, feminine or neuter, and they do not change for singular versus plural. One man, one woman, one thing, a whole crowd — all reflect back as sig / sér / sín. The only choice you make is which case, and the case is set by the verb or preposition, exactly as for any noun.
Accusative sig: the basic reflexive object
When the verb takes an ordinary accusative object and that object is the subject itself, use sig.
Hann sá sig í speglinum.
He saw himself in the mirror. (object = subject → sig, not hann)
Barnið meiddi sig í garðinum.
The child hurt itself in the garden.
Þau kynntu sig fyrir nýju nágrönnunum.
They introduced themselves to the new neighbours. (plural subject, still sig)
The third example is the heart of the matter: the subject þau is plural, but the reflexive is still the bare sig. There is no *sig plural — the pronoun simply does not vary.
Dative sér: "for/to oneself"
Many verbs take a dative, and a large family of common verbs uses a dative reflexive to mean "for oneself." The verb kaupa ("buy") plus sér gives "buy oneself (something)"; fá sér means "have / get oneself (food, a drink)" and is one of the most-used phrases in spoken Icelandic.
Hún keypti sér nýja kápu.
She bought herself a new coat. (dative reflexive sér = 'for herself')
Þau keyptu sér hús úti á landi.
They bought themselves a house out in the countryside.
Fáðu þér kaffi!
Have some coffee! (fá sér — here 2nd person, but the idiom shows the dative-reflexive pattern)
Hann náði sér aldrei eftir slysið.
He never recovered after the accident. (ná sér = 'recover, get oneself back')
Notice that the English translations rarely contain "-self" at all — "buy herself a coat," "recover" — yet Icelandic insists on the reflexive sér. These are reflexive verbs: the sér is part of the lexical entry, not an optional emphasis.
Genitive sín: after genitive-governing words
The genitive sín is rarer, surfacing after the handful of verbs and prepositions that govern the genitive, and in fixed expressions where the reflexive is a possessor or partitive.
Hún gætti sín vel í hálkunni.
She was careful (lit. 'guarded herself') on the ice. (gæta + genitive → sín)
Þau eru viss um sigur sinn og stolt af sjálfum sér.
They are sure of their victory and proud of themselves. (stoltur af + dat. reflexive sér)
The verb gæta ("guard, take care of") governs the genitive, so its reflexive object is sín — gæta sín is the everyday phrase for "be careful / watch oneself."
Reflexive verbs and the -st middle
Some verbs are inherently reflexive and have folded the reflexive into the verb ending -st (the middle voice), so you do not add a separate sig. Setjast ("sit down") is historically setja sig ("set oneself"); klæðast ("dress, wear") absorbs the reflexive likewise. You will meet the -st forms on their own page; for now, recognise that setjast and setja sig are two ways the language packages the same reflexive idea, and you should not double them up.
Fáðu þér sæti og setstu niður.
Take a seat and sit down. (setjast already contains the reflexive — no extra sig)
The disambiguating power of sig: why it is obligatory
Here is the insight that English does not prepare you for. In English, "he hurt himself" and "he hurt him" are different, but English speakers often think of "-self" as an intensifier you could drop. In Icelandic the contrast is sharp and the reflexive is forced:
| Icelandic | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hann meiddi sig. | He hurt himself (the subject = the one hurt). |
| Hann meiddi hann. | He hurt him (a different man). |
Jón rakaði sig.
Jón shaved himself / Jón shaved. (sig = Jón)
Jón rakaði hann.
Jón shaved him (someone else, e.g. a client or his son).
If you mean "he hurt himself" and you say hann meiddi hann, you have not made a stylistic slip — you have said something else entirely (he hurt a third party). Because the reflexive carries this load, Icelandic uses it consistently and obligatorily wherever the object corefers with the subject. Hann/hana/það are reserved for people and things other than the subject.
Emphatic sjálfan sig: "his very self"
To stress the reflexive — "he only thinks about himself," "she did it to herself" — Icelandic adds sjálfur ("self"), which agrees in gender, number and case with the subject, alongside the reflexive: sjálfan sig, sjálfri sér, and so on.
Hann hugsar bara um sjálfan sig.
He only thinks about himself. (emphatic sjálfan sig — masc. acc. agreeing with the subject)
Þú verður að vera trú sjálfri þér.
You have to be true to yourself. (sjálfri sér — feminine dative, addressing a woman)
First and second person: just use the ordinary pronoun
The reflexive sig/sér/sín is third person only. For "I … myself" and "you … yourself," there is no special word — you simply repeat the ordinary personal pronoun in the right case (mig/mér, þig/þér, okkur, ykkur), because in the first and second person there is no ambiguity to resolve.
Ég meiddi mig.
I hurt myself. (1st person → ordinary mig, never sig)
Keyptu þér eitthvað gott!
Buy yourself something nice! (2nd person → þér, the dative of þú)
Common Mistakes
❌ Hann meiddi hann (intending 'he hurt himself').
Incorrect for that meaning — this says he hurt another man; the reflexive is required.
✅ Hann meiddi sig.
He hurt himself. Coreference with the subject forces sig.
This is the highest-stakes error on the page: using hann/hana for an object that is really the subject. It produces a grammatical sentence with the wrong meaning, so it slips past easily.
❌ Hún keypti sig nýja kápu.
Incorrect — kaupa here is 'buy FOR oneself', a dative; the form must be sér.
✅ Hún keypti sér nýja kápu.
She bought herself a new coat. Dative reflexive sér.
The reflexive takes whatever case the construction demands. "Buy oneself something" is a dative-of-benefit, so it is sér, not the accusative sig.
❌ Þeir kynntu sig sjálfir, en ég ætla að nota sig líka.
Incorrect — sig is third person only; for 'I' you cannot use it.
✅ Þeir kynntu sig, og ég kynni mig líka.
They introduced themselves, and I'll introduce myself too. (1st person → mig)
Sig/sér/sín never apply to "I" or "you." Reaching for sig in the first or second person is a classic overgeneralisation.
❌ Hún gætti sér í hálkunni.
Incorrect — gæta governs the genitive, so the reflexive is sín, not the dative sér.
✅ Hún gætti sín í hálkunni.
She was careful on the ice. gæta + genitive → sín.
A genitive-governing verb takes the genitive reflexive sín. Defaulting to sér (because it is the more familiar reflexive) ignores the verb's case.
❌ Hann settist sig niður.
Incorrect — setjast already contains the reflexive; adding sig doubles it.
✅ Hann settist niður.
He sat down. The -st verb is already reflexive.
Don't stack a separate reflexive on top of an -st (middle-voice) verb that has already absorbed it.
Key Takeaways
- The reflexive is sig (acc.), sér (dat.), sín (gen.) — no nominative, no gender, no number variation.
- Use it whenever the object refers back to the subject; it covers he/she/it/they alike.
- It is third person only — for "I/you" reuse the ordinary pronoun (mig, þér, okkur).
- It is obligatory and meaning-bearing: hann meiddi sig (himself) vs hann meiddi hann (another man).
- The case follows the verb/preposition: sjá sig (acc.), kaupa sér (dat.), gæta sín (gen.); sjálfan sig adds emphasis.
Now practice Icelandic
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Icelandic→