You have learned the reflexive forms (me, te, se, nos); now you need to know where to put them. The good news for learners of Brazilian Portuguese is that the answer is gloriously simple in speech: put the reflexive pronoun before the verb, almost always. The complication is only that the formal written norm — and especially European Portuguese — does the opposite. This page sorts out which placement to use when, so you sound like a Brazilian out loud and still recognize the formal forms in print.
The Brazilian spoken default: proclisis
In conversation, Brazilians place the reflexive pronoun before the verb (proclisis) in essentially every situation, including at the very start of a sentence.
Me levanto às sete todo dia.
I get up at seven every day.
Se acalma, vai dar tudo certo.
Calm down, everything's going to be fine.
Te cuida, viu? A gente se fala.
Take care, okay? We'll talk.
Each of these begins with the reflexive pronoun. To a Brazilian ear this is completely natural — it is, in fact, the only way these sentences are normally said. The pronoun glues onto the front of the verb and the two are pronounced as a single unit: melevanto, seacalma, tecuida.
Sentence-initial proclisis: 'Me chamo João'
The single most iconic example is how Brazilians introduce themselves: Me chamo João. Starting a sentence with an unstressed pronoun is forbidden by the traditional grammar — yet it is the standard, unremarkable way to say "My name is João" all over Brazil.
Oi, me chamo Júlia, prazer.
Hi, my name is Júlia, nice to meet you.
Me formei em 2019 e nunca mais parei de estudar.
I graduated in 2019 and never stopped studying.
Se vira, eu não vou resolver isso pra você.
Sort it out yourself, I'm not going to fix this for you.
A grammar purist would "correct" Me chamo João to Chamo-me João. But correcting a Brazilian's Me chamo is like correcting an American for saying "It's me" instead of "It is I." The proclitic version is the living language; the enclitic version is the textbook ghost.
The formal/written enclisis: 'levanto-me'
Formal Brazilian writing — contracts, academic prose, edited literature, official speeches — still follows the traditional rule, under which the reflexive attaches after the verb (enclisis) by default, joined with a hyphen.
Levanto-me cedo para escrever antes do trabalho.
I get up early to write before work. (formal/written)
O autor refere-se a um período anterior.
The author refers to an earlier period. (formal/written)
These are correct and even elegant in writing, but if you said Levanto-me cedo in casual conversation, you would sound bookish or affected. Reserve enclisis for formal registers and for reading comprehension.
Triggers force proclisis even in the formal rule
Even formal writing switches to proclisis when a "trigger word" precedes the verb — negatives, conjunctions, and certain adverbs pull the pronoun forward. This is the one place where the spoken and written systems agree.
Não me arrependo de nada.
I regret nothing. (negation 'não' forces proclisis)
Ela disse que se mudou para São Paulo.
She said she moved to São Paulo. (the conjunction 'que' forces proclisis)
Nunca se sabe o que pode acontecer.
You never know what can happen. (adverb 'nunca' forces proclisis)
So Não me arrependo is required by both systems — the formal one because não is a trigger, the spoken one because proclisis is its default anyway. This overlap is convenient: negated and subordinated reflexives look the same in speech and writing.
Placement with verb groups
When an auxiliary combines with an infinitive or gerund, Brazilian speech tucks the reflexive between the two verbs (proclisis to the main verb), which is also the smoothest option.
Vou me deitar, estou exausta.
I'm going to lie down, I'm exhausted.
Estou me sentindo muito melhor hoje.
I'm feeling much better today.
Preciso me concentrar agora.
I need to concentrate now.
Vou me deitar and preciso me concentrar are the natural Brazilian patterns. Formal writing might prefer vou deitar-me or deitar-me-ei, but conversational Brazilian places the pronoun in front of the main verb.
The BR / PT-PT divide
This is one of the clearest dividing lines between Brazilian and European Portuguese. PT-PT enforces enclisis in the same neutral contexts where Brazil uses proclisis. A Portuguese speaker says Chamo-me João and Levanto-me cedo; a Brazilian says Me chamo João and Me levanto cedo. Same words, mirror-image order.
| Meaning | Brazilian (spoken) | European Portuguese |
|---|---|---|
| My name is... | Me chamo... | Chamo-me... |
| I get up early | Me levanto cedo | Levanto-me cedo |
| Calm down | Se acalma | Acalma-te |
| Take care | Te cuida | Cuida-te |
If you have studied or heard European Portuguese and the enclitic order feels "more correct," remember that for Brazilian Portuguese it is the less natural choice in speech.
Common Mistakes
❌ Chamo-me Pedro. (in casual BR conversation)
Not ungrammatical, but sounds European/very formal when introducing yourself in BR.
✅ Me chamo Pedro.
My name is Pedro.
❌ Não arrependo-me da decisão.
Incorrect even formally — negation 'não' requires proclisis: 'me' before the verb.
✅ Não me arrependo da decisão.
I don't regret the decision.
❌ Vou deitar-me agora. (casual speech)
Stiff in conversation; BR places the pronoun before the main verb.
✅ Vou me deitar agora.
I'm going to lie down now.
❌ Ela disse que mudou-se de cidade.
Incorrect — the conjunction 'que' triggers proclisis: 'se' before the verb.
✅ Ela disse que se mudou de cidade.
She said she moved to a different city.
❌ Acalma-te, tá tudo bem. (everyday BR)
Sounds European; BR says it with proclisis and 'se'.
✅ Se acalma, tá tudo bem.
Calm down, it's all good.
Key Takeaways
- In Brazilian speech, the reflexive pronoun goes before the verb — even at the start of a sentence (Me chamo, Se levanta, Te cuida).
- Sentence-initial proclisis is forbidden by traditional grammar but is standard, unremarkable Brazilian Portuguese.
- Formal writing uses enclisis (levanto-me, refere-se) by default.
- Trigger words (não, que, nunca) force proclisis in both systems.
- BR proclisis vs PT-PT enclisis is one of the clearest divides between the two varieties.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Reflexive Pronouns: me, te, se, nosA2 — The full set of Portuguese reflexive pronouns, how the overloaded se covers most persons, and why Brazilian speech places them before the verb.
- Direct Object Pronoun Placement in BRA2 — Where the clitic goes in Brazilian Portuguese: the prescriptive proclisis/enclisis/mesoclisis system versus the near-universal proclisis of real BR speech ('Me viu').
- Reflexive Pronouns: me, te, se, nos, seA2 — The Brazilian reflexive pronoun set and its three jobs — true reflexive, reciprocal, and pronominal — with special attention to the overloaded 'se'.
- Clitic Placement: BR vs PT-PT ComparedB1 — The single clearest grammatical marker dividing Brazilian and European Portuguese — Brazil fronts object pronouns (Me chamo), Portugal attaches them after the verb (Chamo-me).