Pronominal (Reflexive) Verbs List | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Portuguese marks certain verbs as pronominal — they require a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, vos, se) regardless of whether the action "reflects back on" the subject in any literal way. English has no equivalent: we say "I complain," not "I complain myself." Portuguese says queixo-me.

This reference lists two groups: (1) inherently pronominal verbs that are always used with -se, and (2) meaning-changing verb pairs where the pronominal form means something different from the non-pronominal form.

Part 1 — Inherently pronominal verbs

These verbs take -se in every context; the pronoun is part of the verb's identity. Dropping the pronoun produces either nonsense or a different verb entirely.

Infinitive	English gloss	Example
arrepender-se (de)	to regret	Arrependo-me de ter saído tão cedo.
queixar-se (de)	to complain about	Ele queixa-se sempre do trânsito.
atrever-se (a)	to dare to	Não me atrevo a falar com o chefe.
dignar-se (a)	to deign to	Finalmente dignou-se a responder-me.
suicidar-se	to commit suicide	O poeta suicidou-se em 1935.
apoderar-se (de)	to seize, take hold of	O medo apoderou-se dela.
apropriar-se (de)	to appropriate	Apropriou-se do dinheiro da empresa.
candidatar-se (a)	to apply for	Candidato-me ao lugar de professor.
imiscuir-se (em)	to meddle in	Não te imiscuas nos assuntos deles.
abster-se (de)	to abstain from	Abstenho-me de comentar a polémica.
apiedar-se (de)	to take pity on	Apiedou-se do pobre gato.
orgulhar-se (de)	to be proud of	Orgulho-me dos meus filhos.
envergonhar-se (de)	to be ashamed of	Envergonhei-me do que disse.
rebelar-se (contra)	to rebel against	Os jovens rebelaram-se contra as regras.
refugiar-se (em)	to take refuge in	Refugiámo-nos num café durante a chuva.
abstrair-se (de)	to detach oneself from	É difícil abstrair-me do barulho.
dar-se (com)	to get on with, to fare	Dou-me bem com os vizinhos.
exasperar-se (com)	to get exasperated	Exasperei-me com a demora.
esforçar-se (por/para)	to make an effort, strive	Esforço-me por ser melhor pai.
aperceber-se (de)	to notice, realize	Apercebi-me tarde do problema.
compadecer-se (de)	to feel sorry for	Compadeci-me da família da vítima.
insurgir-se (contra)	to rise up against	Os trabalhadores insurgiram-se contra os despedimentos.
zangar-se (com)	to get angry with	Zanguei-me com ele por uma tolice.
assenhorear-se (de)	(literary) to take possession of	O silêncio assenhoreou-se da sala.

Arrependo-me amargamente de ter dito aquilo à minha irmã.

I bitterly regret having said that to my sister.

Ele queixa-se da chefia todos os dias, mas nunca pede transferência.

He complains about management every day, but he never asks for a transfer.

Não me atrevo a pedir-lhe aumento — a empresa não está nada bem.

I don't dare ask him for a raise — the company isn't doing well at all.

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The pronoun placement follows the standard PT-PT rules: enclitic (after the verb with a hyphen) in affirmative main clauses — queixo-me — and proclitic (before the verb) after negation, subordinators, and certain other triggers — não me queixo, sei que me queixo. See pronoun placement.

Part 1b — True reflexives: daily-routine and body-care verbs

A separate family of pronominal verbs describes actions the subject performs on themselves. Here the -se is genuinely reflexive (not just idiomatic): it stands in for "oneself." These are among the first pronominal verbs learners meet — they appear in every description of a morning routine.

Infinitive	English gloss	Example
levantar-se	to get up	Levanto-me às sete todos os dias.
deitar-se	to lie down, go to bed	Deito-me por volta da meia-noite.
sentar-se	to sit down	Senta-te aqui ao meu lado.
lavar-se	to wash (oneself)	Lavo-me antes de tomar o pequeno-almoço.
vestir-se	to get dressed	Vestiu-se à pressa e saiu.
despir-se	to undress	Despi-me e fui logo para a cama.
pentear-se	to comb one's hair	Ela penteia-se sempre antes de sair.
calçar-se	to put on shoes	Calça-te depressa, estamos atrasados.
sentir-se (+ adj.)	to feel (a certain way)	Sinto-me cansado hoje.
divertir-se	to have fun	Divertimo-nos imenso na festa.
aborrecer-se (com)	to get bored / annoyed	Aborreço-me em reuniões longas.
atrasar-se	to be/run late	Atrasei-me por causa do trânsito.
apressar-se	to hurry	Apressa-te, que o comboio está a sair.
preocupar-se (com)	to worry about	Não te preocupes comigo.
calar-se	to be/keep quiet	Cala-te, por favor, estou a tentar ouvir.
mexer-se	to move (oneself), to get going	Mexe-te, que já é tarde.
apaixonar-se (por)	to fall in love with	Apaixonei-me por ela na primeira semana.
reformar-se	to retire	O meu pai reformou-se aos sessenta e cinco.

Levanto-me cedo, lavo-me, visto-me, e saio para o trabalho — a rotina é sempre a mesma.

I get up early, wash, dress, and leave for work — the routine is always the same.

Despi-me, deitei-me e adormeci num instante.

I got undressed, lay down, and fell asleep in an instant.

Part 2 — Meaning-changing pairs

These verbs exist in two versions — with and without -se — and the meanings differ significantly. Learners must know both.

Lembrar vs lembrar-se (de)

Lembrar = to remind someone of something.
Lembrar-se (de) = to remember.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
lembrar — to remind	lembrar-se de — to remember

Lembras-te do verão em que fomos a Sagres?

Do you remember the summer we went to Sagres?

Lembra-me de ligar ao dentista amanhã, por favor.

Remind me to call the dentist tomorrow, please.

Ir vs ir-se embora

Ir = to go (to a destination).
Ir-se (embora) = to leave, to depart.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
ir (a/para) — to go (to)	ir-se (embora) — to leave

Vou ao supermercado — precisas de alguma coisa?

I'm going to the supermarket — do you need anything?

Já é tarde, acho que me vou embora.

It's late — I think I'll head off.

Parecer vs parecer-se (com)

Parecer = to seem, to appear (copula).
Parecer-se com = to resemble, to look like.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
parecer — to seem	parecer-se com — to resemble

Ele parece cansado — vai precisar de descansar.

He looks tired — he's going to need to rest.

A Clara parece-se imenso com a mãe, especialmente no sorriso.

Clara looks exactly like her mother, especially when she smiles.

Encontrar vs encontrar-se

Encontrar = to find (something lost, or to encounter).
Encontrar-se = to meet (by arrangement) OR to be located.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
encontrar — to find, to run into	encontrar-se (com) — to meet / encontrar-se (em) — to be located

Finalmente encontrei as minhas chaves — estavam no bolso do casaco.

I finally found my keys — they were in the coat pocket.

Amanhã encontro-me com a Joana para almoçar.

Tomorrow I'm meeting Joana for lunch.

O hotel encontra-se no centro da cidade, mesmo ao lado da estação.

The hotel is located in the city center, right next to the station.

Despedir vs despedir-se (de)

Despedir = to fire (someone from a job).
Despedir-se (de) = to say goodbye to.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
despedir — to fire, to dismiss	despedir-se de — to say goodbye to

A empresa despediu cinquenta pessoas em Janeiro.

The company fired fifty people in January.

Despedi-me dos colegas antes de sair de vez.

I said goodbye to my colleagues before leaving for good.

Acordar vs acordar-se

Acordar = to wake up (intransitive) OR to wake someone up (transitive).
Acordar-se (de) = (less common in PT-PT) to remember; more common in older or literary usage.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
acordar — to wake up / to wake someone	acordar-se de — (literary) to remember, be reminded of

Acordo sempre às sete, mesmo aos fins-de-semana.

I always wake up at seven, even on weekends.

Acorda-me às seis, por favor, não te esqueças.

Wake me at six, please, don't forget.

💡

In PT-PT, acordar-se in the sense "to remember" is old-fashioned or regional. Use lembrar-se de in everyday speech.

Rir vs rir-se (de)

Rir and rir-se are effectively synonymous — both exist, both mean "to laugh." But rir-se is the more common form in PT-PT, especially with a complement.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
rir — to laugh (plain)	rir-se de — to laugh (at)

Ri-me imenso com a piada do Bruno ontem.

I laughed a lot at Bruno's joke yesterday.

Não te rias de mim, eu falo a sério.

Don't laugh at me, I'm being serious.

Esquecer vs esquecer-se (de)

Esquecer = to forget (transitive; less common without the pronoun in everyday PT-PT).
Esquecer-se (de) = the standard everyday form.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
esquecer — to forget (formal/literary)	esquecer-se de — to forget (everyday)

Esqueci-me completamente do teu aniversário — mil desculpas.

I completely forgot your birthday — a thousand apologies.

Nunca esquecerei aquele verão. (literary)

I will never forget that summer.

Sentir vs sentir-se

Sentir + direct object = to feel something (emotion, pain, sensation).
Sentir-se + adjective = to feel a certain way (about oneself).

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
sentir — to feel (something)	sentir-se — to feel (+ adj.)

Sinto uma dor aguda no joelho desde ontem.

I've felt a sharp pain in my knee since yesterday.

Sinto-me muito melhor depois de ter dormido bem.

I feel much better after sleeping well.

Ocupar vs ocupar-se (de/com)

Ocupar = to occupy (take up space or a position).
Ocupar-se (de/com) = to busy oneself with, to take care of.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
ocupar — to occupy	ocupar-se de/com — to take care of

Os manifestantes ocuparam o edifício durante três dias.

The protesters occupied the building for three days.

A minha tia ocupa-se das crianças enquanto estamos no trabalho.

My aunt takes care of the children while we're at work.

Chamar vs chamar-se

Chamar = to call (someone, or call someone something).
Chamar-se = to be called (one's name).

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
chamar — to call	chamar-se — to be named

Chamei-te três vezes e não respondeste.

I called you three times and you didn't answer.

Como é que ela se chama? Não me lembro.

What's her name? I can't remember.

Decidir vs decidir-se (por/a)

Decidir = to decide (that, to).
Decidir-se (por / a) = to make up one's mind (after hesitation).

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
decidir — to decide	decidir-se por/a — to make up one's mind

Decidi mudar de casa no Verão.

I've decided to move house in the summer.

Depois de muito pensar, decidi-me por Coimbra.

After much thought, I settled on Coimbra.

Tornar vs tornar-se

Tornar = to turn (something into something) OR to return (less common).
Tornar-se = to become.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
tornar — to turn (transitive)	tornar-se — to become

O calor tornou o quarto insuportável.

The heat made the room unbearable.

Com o tempo, ele tornou-se um excelente cozinheiro.

With time, he became an excellent cook.

Mudar vs mudar-se

Mudar = to change (something).
Mudar-se = to move house.

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
mudar — to change	mudar-se (para) — to move (house)

Mudei os móveis do quarto e agora tenho mais espaço.

I moved the bedroom furniture around and now I have more space.

Mudámo-nos para Aveiro no ano passado.

We moved to Aveiro last year.

Pôr vs pôr-se

Pôr = to put, to place.
Pôr-se a + infinitive = to start doing something (often abruptly).
Pôr-se + adjective = to become (suddenly).

Non-pronominal	Pronominal
pôr — to put	pôr-se a + inf. — to start suddenly / pôr-se + adj. — to become

Pus a chave na mesa e já não a vejo.

I put the key on the table and I can't see it anymore.

Quando viu o pai, pôs-se a chorar.

When she saw her father, she started crying.

Ver vs ver-se

Ver = to see.
Ver-se + participle / adjective = to find oneself in a state (often unintentionally).

Vi-te ontem na baixa com o teu irmão.

I saw you yesterday downtown with your brother.

Vi-me obrigado a cancelar as férias.

I found myself forced to cancel the vacation.

Fazer vs fazer-se (de)

Fazer = to do, to make.
Fazer-se (de) = to pretend to be / to become.

Fez o trabalho todo sem ajuda de ninguém.

He did all the work without anyone's help.

Não te faças de burro — sabes muito bem o que aconteceu.

Don't play dumb — you know perfectly well what happened.

Deitar vs deitar-se

Deitar = to throw, to pour, to lay down.
Deitar-se = to lie down, to go to bed.

Deita o lixo para o caixote, por favor.

Throw the trash in the bin, please.

Costumo deitar-me por volta da meia-noite.

I usually go to bed around midnight.

Levantar vs levantar-se

Levantar = to lift, to raise.
Levantar-se = to get up, to stand up.

Levantou a mão para pedir a palavra.

She raised her hand to ask to speak.

Levanto-me cedo todos os dias da semana.

I get up early every weekday.

Sentar vs sentar-se

Sentar = to seat (someone).
Sentar-se = to sit down.

Sentaram as crianças à mesa da cozinha.

They sat the children at the kitchen table.

Senta-te, por favor — estás cansado.

Sit down, please — you're tired.

Preparar vs preparar-se (para)

Preparar = to prepare (something).
Preparar-se (para) = to get ready (for).

Preparei o jantar enquanto ele tomava banho.

I made dinner while he was showering.

Os alunos preparam-se para os exames durante semanas.

The students prepare for exams for weeks.

Casar vs casar-se (com)

Casar = to marry (someone off, as in a priest marrying a couple).
Casar-se (com) = to get married (to someone). In informal PT-PT, plain casar com is also very common.

O padre casou o Rui e a Sofia na capela.

The priest married Rui and Sofia in the chapel.

Ele casou-se com uma espanhola em 2019.

He married a Spanish woman in 2019.

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Casar com (without -se) is widely accepted in everyday PT-PT: Ele casou com uma espanhola. Formal registers prefer casar-se com.

Comparison with English and Spanish

English lacks pronominal verbs almost entirely. "I complain" has no pronoun; "I enjoy myself" is rare. Portuguese requires the pronoun on whole classes of verbs where English does not — this is the single biggest source of omission errors.
Spanish has a very similar system. Many PT pronominal verbs correspond directly to SP ones: quejarse ↔ queixar-se, arrepentirse ↔ arrepender-se, atreverse ↔ atrever-se. A Spanish-speaking learner should expect the pronoun more often than an English-speaking one.
French, Italian and other Romance languages use the reflexive even more liberally. If you know any of them, the pronominal idea is familiar.

PT-PT vs BP placement differences

Pronominal verbs behave identically in their pronoun selection across PT-PT and BP — arrepender-se is arrepender-se everywhere. The difference is purely placement: BP tends toward proclisis by default (eu me arrependo); PT-PT defaults to enclisis in affirmative main clauses (eu arrependo-me or simply arrependo-me).

Common mistakes

❌ Eu lembro do teu aniversário sempre.

Wrong — **lembrar** without the pronoun means 'to remind', not 'to remember'.

✅ Eu lembro-me sempre do teu aniversário.

Correct — **lembrar-se de** is 'to remember'.

❌ Eles casaram na igreja do avô.

Acceptable informally, but in more careful PT-PT use **casaram-se**.

✅ Eles casaram-se na igreja do avô.

Correct in formal register — with **-se**.

❌ O hotel encontra no centro.

Wrong — location requires **encontrar-se**, not **encontrar**.

✅ O hotel encontra-se no centro.

Correct — the hotel is located in the center.

❌ Despedi do meu avô antes de viajar.

Wrong — **despedir** without **-se** means 'to fire'.

✅ Despedi-me do meu avô antes de viajar.

Correct — I said goodbye to my grandfather.

❌ Ela parece o pai, sobretudo nos olhos.

Wrong — to mean 'looks like', use **parecer-se com**.

✅ Ela parece-se com o pai, sobretudo nos olhos.

Correct — with the pronoun and the preposition.

Key takeaways

Inherently pronominal verbs (arrepender-se, queixar-se, atrever-se, etc.) never drop the -se.
Meaning-changing pairs (lembrar / lembrar-se, encontrar / encontrar-se, despedir / despedir-se) have two related but different verbs — learn both members.
Many Portuguese pronominal verbs govern a preposition: queixar-se de, atrever-se a, candidatar-se a, apropriar-se de. Memorize the pairing.
The pronoun itself follows the standard PT-PT placement rules: enclitic by default, proclitic after triggers like não, que, se, quando, todos, ninguém.
If a sentence feels off when you drop the -se, you've probably got a pronominal verb. Add the pronoun and the preposition it governs.

For the teaching page on pronominal verb behavior, see inherently reflexive and reflexive vs non-reflexive.