Common Reflexive Verbs | Portuguese (Portugal) Grammar

Once you understand how reflexive marking works in European Portuguese, the next step is to learn the set of verbs that actually use it. This page walks through roughly twenty of the most common reflexive verbs in Portuguese — the ones you need to be able to produce comfortably at A2/B1 — organized by meaning, with example sentences in natural contexts and a full paradigm of the key reference verb lavar-se. For each verb, we flag the preposition (if any) and any differences from the non-reflexive version.

The reference paradigm: lavar-se in the present indicative

Pick any regular reflexive verb in Portuguese and the paradigm follows this pattern. Lavar-se is the textbook example.

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	English
eu	lavo-me	não me lavo	I wash myself
tu	lavas-te	não te lavas	you wash yourself
ele / ela / você	lava-se	não se lava	he/she/you wash(es) him/her/yourself
nós	lavamo-nos	não nos lavamos	we wash ourselves
eles / elas / vocês	lavam-se	não se lavam	they/you all wash them/yourselves

The paradigm shows every feature of European Portuguese reflexive verbs in one place:

Enclitic pronoun in the affirmative: lavo-me, lavas-te, lava-se, lavamo-nos, lavam-se.
Proclitic pronoun after a trigger: negation pulls the pronoun before the verb — não me lavo, não te lavas.
The nós form drops -s when the enclitic -nos attaches: lavamos
- nos → lavamo-nos.
se covers three slots: third-person singular (ele se lava), third-person plural (eles se lavam), and the polite você / vocês forms.

Lavo-me com água fria todas as manhãs.

I wash with cold water every morning.

Tu não te lavas depois do ginásio?

Don't you shower after the gym?

Lavamo-nos no lavatório porque o duche está avariado.

We're washing at the sink because the shower is broken.

Physical care and grooming

The largest single cluster of reflexive verbs in Portuguese deals with actions of personal care — washing, dressing, grooming. These are true reflexives: the subject is doing something to itself, and the non-reflexive version of the verb describes doing it to someone else.

lavar-se — to wash oneself

Tenho de me lavar antes do jantar — venho cheio de tinta.

I have to wash up before dinner — I'm covered in paint.

Os miúdos ainda não se lavaram?

Haven't the kids washed yet?

Non-reflexive lavar means to wash something else: lavar o carro, lavar a loiça ("to wash the car, do the dishes"). If you are washing yourself, the verb needs the pronoun.

vestir-se — to get dressed

Veste-te depressa, o táxi já vem aí.

Get dressed quickly, the taxi is on its way.

Ela veste-se sempre com muito bom gosto.

She always dresses with great taste.

Non-reflexive vestir means to dress someone else (vestir o bebé — "dress the baby") or to put a specific garment on (vestir uma camisa — "put on a shirt"). Note also despir-se ("to undress"), which is the opposite.

Não te dispas aqui — vai ao quarto.

Don't undress here — go to the bedroom.

barbear-se — to shave (oneself)

Barbeio-me de dois em dois dias.

I shave every two days.

Ele cortou-se ao barbear-se esta manhã.

He cut himself shaving this morning.

pentear-se — to comb / do one's hair

Não saio de casa sem me pentear.

I don't leave the house without doing my hair.

Ela passa meia hora a pentear-se antes de sair.

She spends half an hour on her hair before going out.

maquilhar-se — to put on makeup

Maquilho-me só quando vou a uma festa.

I only put on makeup when I'm going to a party.

Ela demora uma eternidade a maquilhar-se.

She takes forever to do her makeup.

Note the spelling: maquilhar, not maquillar. The Brazilian form maquiar-se is not used in EP.

pôr-se — to put oneself (a versatile verb)

Though not strictly a grooming verb, pôr-se is worth including because it is one of the most flexible reflexives in Portuguese. Its core meaning is "to put oneself in a position / state."

Põe-te aí ao pé da janela, que há mais luz.

Stand over there by the window, there's more light.

Ela pôs-se a chorar quando ouviu a notícia.

She started crying when she heard the news.

Identity and states of being

chamar-se — to be named / called

This is one of the first reflexive verbs any learner of Portuguese meets, because it is how you introduce yourself.

Chamo-me Inês e sou de Coimbra.

My name is Inês and I'm from Coimbra.

Como é que te chamas?

What's your name?

Como se chama a tua irmã?

What's your sister's name?

Aquele miúdo chama-se Tomás.

That kid is called Tomás.

Non-reflexive chamar means "to call (someone / something)": chamar o médico ("call the doctor"), chamar um táxi ("call a taxi").

sentir-se — to feel (a state)

Sentir-se + adjective or adverb describes how someone feels — physically or emotionally.

Não me sinto bem — acho que apanhei uma constipação.

I don't feel well — I think I've caught a cold.

Sentes-te melhor hoje?

Are you feeling better today?

Sinto-me um bocado triste desde o funeral.

I've been feeling a bit sad since the funeral.

Compare with non-reflexive sentir, which takes a direct object and means "to feel / sense (something)": sentir frio, sentir saudades, sentir um cheiro estranho.

encontrar-se — to meet up / find oneself

This verb has two distinct readings. As a reciprocal, encontrar-se com means "to meet with someone." As a state, it means "to be / find oneself in some condition."

Vamos encontrar-nos às sete em frente ao cinema.

Let's meet at seven in front of the cinema.

Encontramo-nos todas as sextas para jogar futsal.

We meet every Friday to play futsal.

O doente encontra-se estável.

The patient is in stable condition. (literally: finds himself stable)

Posture and daily movements

sentar-se — to sit down

Senta-te, por favor — estás a fazer-me ficar nervoso em pé.

Sit down, please — you're making me nervous standing there.

Sentámo-nos no banco do jardim a olhar para o rio.

We sat on the garden bench looking at the river.

Eles sentam-se sempre no mesmo lugar no comboio.

They always sit in the same seat on the train.

deitar-se — to lie down / go to bed

Deito-me sempre antes das onze.

I always go to bed before eleven.

O cão deita-se aos meus pés enquanto eu leio.

The dog lies at my feet while I read.

Não te deites agora — estamos a meio do jantar.

Don't lie down now — we're in the middle of dinner.

Non-reflexive deitar means "to lay something down" or "to throw": deitar o lixo fora ("to throw out the rubbish"), deitar o bebé no berço ("to put the baby in the crib").

levantar-se — to get up / stand up

Levanto-me sempre às seis, mesmo ao fim de semana.

I always get up at six, even at weekends.

Levantas-te muito cedo para ir trabalhar.

You get up very early for work.

Quando a professora entrou, todos se levantaram.

When the teacher came in, everyone stood up.

aproximar-se — to approach

O Natal aproxima-se e ainda não comprei nenhum presente.

Christmas is approaching and I haven't bought any presents yet.

Aproxima-te mais para eu ouvir-te melhor.

Come closer so I can hear you better.

afastar-se — to move away

Afasta-te da beira do penhasco!

Get away from the edge of the cliff!

Ele afastou-se da família depois da discussão.

He distanced himself from the family after the argument.

Inherent reflexives — the verbs that only exist this way

These verbs simply do not occur without their reflexive pronoun. You cannot say Queixo do barulho (wrong) — only Queixo-me do barulho. See Inherently Reflexive Verbs for the full treatment; the most common ones:

lembrar-se de — to remember

Lembras-te daquele restaurante em Sintra?

Do you remember that restaurant in Sintra?

Não me lembro do nome dela, mas conheço a cara.

I don't remember her name, but I recognize her face.

Ele lembra-se de tudo o que aconteceu naquele dia.

He remembers everything that happened that day.

Note the preposition de. You remember of something in Portuguese, not directly.

esquecer-se de — to forget

Esqueci-me das chaves em cima da mesa.

I forgot my keys on the table.

Não te esqueças de comprar leite à vinda.

Don't forget to buy milk on the way back.

Esquecemo-nos completamente do nosso aniversário de casamento.

We completely forgot our wedding anniversary.

Also de. Interestingly, Portuguese also has a non-reflexive esquecer that takes a direct object (esquecer algo) — this is grammatical but rarer in speech; the reflexive version is the one used in everyday Portugal.

queixar-se de — to complain

Estás sempre a queixar-te do teu chefe.

You're always complaining about your boss.

Não adianta queixares-te da chuva em Lisboa em fevereiro.

There's no point complaining about the rain in Lisbon in February.

O velhote queixa-se de dores nas costas.

The old man complains of back pain.

arrepender-se de — to regret

Arrependo-me de ter dito aquilo — desculpa.

I regret having said that — I'm sorry.

Vais arrepender-te desta decisão.

You're going to regret this decision.

Ele arrependeu-se demasiado tarde.

He regretted it too late.

rir-se de — to laugh at

Não te rias de mim!

Don't laugh at me!

Toda a gente se riu da piada.

Everyone laughed at the joke.

Rir can also appear without the reflexive pronoun in some constructions (rir com alguém, "to laugh with someone"), but rir-se de is the normal form for "to laugh at."

Quick reference: twenty reflexive verbs

Verb	Meaning	Preposition (if any)
lavar-se	to wash oneself	—
vestir-se	to get dressed	—
despir-se	to undress	—
barbear-se	to shave	—
pentear-se	to comb one's hair	—
maquilhar-se	to put on makeup	—
chamar-se	to be named	—
sentir-se	to feel (a state)	—
sentar-se	to sit down	—
deitar-se	to go to bed / lie down	—
levantar-se	to get up	—
aproximar-se	to approach	de
afastar-se	to move away	de
encontrar-se	to meet up / find oneself	com
lembrar-se	to remember	de
esquecer-se	to forget	de
queixar-se	to complain	de
arrepender-se	to regret	de
rir-se	to laugh	de
orgulhar-se	to be proud	de

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Notice how many take the preposition de. That is not coincidence — de in Portuguese often marks the object of emotional or mental processes (remembering, forgetting, regretting, complaining, being proud). English often uses "of," "about," or a direct object for the same role. When learning a new reflexive, ask yourself: does this verb take a preposition? If so, which one?

Verbs English speakers expect to be reflexive but aren't

One of the most useful things about the reflexive category in Portuguese is learning which verbs are not reflexive, despite looking as if they should be. Portuguese differs from Spanish and French on several of these.

Verb	Portuguese	Spanish	Notes
to wake up	acordar (NOT reflexive)	despertarse (reflexive)	Acordo às sete. — I wake up at seven.
to sleep	dormir (NOT reflexive)	dormirse (reflexive for 'fall asleep')	Durmo oito horas. — I sleep eight hours.
to go to sleep / fall asleep	adormecer (NOT reflexive)	dormirse (reflexive)	Adormeci a ver televisão. — I fell asleep watching TV.
to have breakfast	tomar o pequeno-almoço	desayunarse	Not a verb by itself in PT.
to go away / leave	ir embora (NOT reflexive)	irse (reflexive)	Vou embora. — I'm leaving.
to stay	ficar (NOT reflexive)	quedarse (reflexive)	Fico em casa. — I'm staying home.

This last cluster matters a great deal for Spanish speakers. In Spanish, despertarse and dormirse are reflexive by default; their Portuguese counterparts acordar and adormecer are not. Saying acordo-me às sete is not standard European Portuguese — the verb does not take a reflexive pronoun in this sense. Similarly, vou-me embora is heard (especially the older-style vou-me) but the standard form is vou embora without a pronoun.

Acordo todos os dias às sete sem despertador.

I wake up every day at seven without an alarm.

Dormi muito mal esta noite.

I slept really badly last night.

Vou embora, que já é tarde.

I'm off, it's already late.

Common Mistakes

❌ Acordo-me às sete.

Incorrect in standard EP — acordar is not reflexive in Portuguese (unlike Spanish despertarse). Just say Acordo às sete.

✅ Acordo às sete.

I wake up at seven.

❌ Nós sentamos-nos à mesa.

Incorrect — with the enclitic -nos, the nós form drops its final -s: sentamo-nos.

✅ Nós sentamo-nos à mesa.

We sit down at the table.

❌ Lembro do nome dele.

Incorrect — lembrar-se is inherently reflexive and needs the pronoun. Also needs the preposition de.

✅ Lembro-me do nome dele.

I remember his name.

❌ Não esqueço-me de ti.

Incorrect placement — negation triggers proclitic position. The pronoun moves before the verb.

✅ Não me esqueço de ti.

I won't forget you.

❌ Como chamas você?

Incorrect — 'chamar-se' needs the reflexive pronoun to express 'to be named'. Also, 'como' is a trigger for proclitic placement.

✅ Como se chama?

What's your name? (formal)

Key Takeaways

The reference paradigm is lavo-me, lavas-te, lava-se, lavamo-nos, lavam-se — every regular reflexive verb follows this pattern in the present indicative.
The nós form drops its final -s before the enclitic -nos: sentamos
- nos → sentamo-nos.
Many common reflexives take a preposition, most often de: lembrar-se de, esquecer-se de, queixar-se de, arrepender-se de, rir-se de, orgulhar-se de.
Physical-care verbs (lavar-se, vestir-se, barbear-se, pentear-se, maquilhar-se), posture verbs (sentar-se, deitar-se, levantar-se), and identity verbs (chamar-se, sentir-se) are the three main clusters to master first.
Portuguese is not Spanish: acordar, dormir, adormecer, ir embora, and ficar are NOT reflexive in Portuguese, even though their Spanish cognates often are.