Most reflexive verbs in Portuguese have a non-reflexive twin — lavar and lavar-se, sentar and sentar-se, chamar and chamar-se. But a small, important group of verbs behaves differently: they exist only in reflexive form. There is no arrepender without -se. There is no queixar without -me, -te, -se, -nos. For these verbs, the pronoun is not an added ingredient that modifies meaning — it is welded into the verb itself. Strip it off and you get nonsense. Linguists call these inherently reflexive or lexical reflexive verbs, and they are one of the most common sources of learner error at A2 and B1.
This page catalogues the core set: what they mean, what preposition they take, and how they work inside sentences.
What "inherently reflexive" means
A verb is inherently reflexive when you cannot drop the reflexive pronoun without the verb becoming ungrammatical. For these verbs, the pronoun is part of the verb's lexical identity — the same way English "to take off" loses meaning if you drop "off."
Compare:
| Verb type | Reflexive form | Non-reflexive form | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary reflexive | lavar-se (wash oneself) | lavar (wash something) | Both exist |
| Ordinary reflexive | sentar-se (sit down) | sentar (seat someone) | Both exist |
| Inherently reflexive | queixar-se (complain) | *queixar | Only reflexive exists |
| Inherently reflexive | arrepender-se (regret) | *arrepender | Only reflexive exists |
You cannot say Eu queixo do barulho — the verb queixar does not exist without its pronoun. You must say Eu queixo-me do barulho.
Eu queixo-me sempre do tempo, mas continuo a viver em Lisboa.
I'm always complaining about the weather, but I still live in Lisbon.
Ele arrependeu-se daquele comentário durante anos.
He regretted that comment for years.
The core list
These are the inherently reflexive verbs every intermediate learner should know. They are grouped by the preposition they take, because that is the second thing you need to memorize with each one.
Verbs with de
De is by far the most common preposition with inherently reflexive verbs — a reflection of the fact that many of these verbs describe an emotional or cognitive attitude toward something, and de is Portuguese's all-purpose marker for that relationship.
| Verb | Meaning | Example preposition use |
|---|---|---|
| arrepender-se de | to regret | arrependo-me de ter dito aquilo |
| queixar-se de | to complain (about) | queixo-me do tempo |
| aperceber-se de | to realize / become aware of | apercebi-me do erro |
| orgulhar-se de | to be proud of | orgulho-me dos meus filhos |
| vangloriar-se de | to boast (about) | vangloria-se das suas viagens |
| lembrar-se de | to remember | lembro-me de ti |
| esquecer-se de | to forget | esqueci-me das chaves |
| rir-se de | to laugh at | riu-se de mim |
| apiedar-se de | to take pity on | apiedou-se do cão |
Arrependo-me de não ter estudado mais para o exame.
I regret not having studied more for the exam.
Ela queixa-se constantemente do barulho dos vizinhos do andar de cima.
She constantly complains about the noise from the upstairs neighbours.
Apercebi-me de que estava sozinho só depois de todos saírem.
I only realized I was alone after everyone had left.
Orgulhamo-nos muito do trabalho que a nossa filha tem feito.
We're very proud of the work our daughter has been doing.
Ele vangloria-se das notas que teve na faculdade há vinte anos.
He brags about the grades he got in university twenty years ago. (slightly disparaging tone)
Verbs with a
| Verb | Meaning | Example preposition use |
|---|---|---|
| atrever-se a | to dare | não me atrevo a dizer-lhe |
| resignar-se a | to resign oneself to | resignei-me a perder |
| dedicar-se a | to dedicate oneself to | dedica-se ao ensino |
| opor-se a | to oppose | opôs-se à decisão |
| dignar-se a | to deign (to do something) | dignou-se a responder |
Dedicar-se and opor-se have non-reflexive counterparts (dedicar algo a alguém, opor algo) in formal writing, but the reflexive forms are the ones you use when the subject is the one doing the dedicating or opposing. Treat them here with the lexical reflexives for practical purposes.
Não me atrevo a pedir-lhe aumento neste momento.
I don't dare ask him for a raise right now.
Resignou-se a viver sozinho depois do divórcio.
He resigned himself to living alone after the divorce.
Ela dedica-se inteiramente à investigação científica.
She dedicates herself entirely to scientific research.
Verbs with com
| Verb | Meaning | Example preposition use |
|---|---|---|
| deparar-se com | to come across / encounter | deparei-me com um problema |
| importar-se com | to care about / mind | não me importo com o frio |
| dar-se com | to get on (with someone) | dou-me bem com a minha sogra |
Deparei-me com a mesma situação na semana passada.
I came across the same situation last week.
Não te importas que eu abra a janela?
Do you mind if I open the window?
Ele dá-se muito bem com todos os colegas.
He gets on really well with all his colleagues.
Verbs with no preposition
A few inherent reflexives take no preposition — they simply take a direct complement or stand on their own.
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| suicidar-se | to commit suicide |
| esforçar-se | to make an effort / try hard |
| calar-se | to be quiet / shut up |
| portar-se | to behave |
Esforçar-se optionally takes por + infinitive or para + infinitive when specifying the effort's goal, but it can also stand alone:
Tens de te esforçar mais — as notas estão a cair.
You need to try harder — your grades are dropping.
Esforço-me por ser paciente com os meus alunos.
I try hard to be patient with my students.
Dignou-se a responder ao meu email três semanas depois.
He deigned to answer my email three weeks later. (with sarcasm)
Cala-te, estou a tentar ouvir as notícias.
Be quiet, I'm trying to hear the news.
Os miúdos portaram-se muito bem no restaurante.
The kids behaved really well at the restaurant.
Suicidar-se is morphologically inherently reflexive — there is no suicidar — but for obvious reasons it is not a high-frequency verb. Recognize it in the news and in literature.
Suicidou-se no verão passado — a família ainda está de luto.
He killed himself last summer — the family is still in mourning.
Two special cases: lembrar-se and esquecer-se
These two deserve their own section because they do have non-reflexive counterparts — but with completely different meanings. For everyday speech, treat them as inherently reflexive in the "remember / forget" sense, because the non-reflexive forms mean something else.
lembrar (non-reflexive) vs lembrar-se (reflexive)
- lembrar alguém de algo — "to remind someone of something" (non-reflexive, transitive)
- lembrar-se de algo — "to remember something" (inherently reflexive, takes de)
Esta música lembra-me a minha avó.
This music reminds me of my grandmother. (non-reflexive — 'me' is the direct object, the music is the subject)
Lembro-me sempre da minha avó quando ouço esta música.
I always remember my grandmother when I hear this music. (reflexive — eu sou o sujeito)
The structure is very different. In the first sentence, the music does the reminding; in the second, I do the remembering. English uses "remind" and "remember" as separate verbs; Portuguese uses one root with and without the reflexive marker.
esquecer (non-reflexive) vs esquecer-se (reflexive)
- esquecer algo — "to forget something" (non-reflexive, transitive — less common in speech)
- esquecer-se de algo — "to forget something" (reflexive, takes de — more colloquial)
Both are grammatical and both mean "to forget." The difference is register and frequency:
Esqueci as chaves.
I forgot the keys. (non-reflexive — more terse, slightly more formal)
Esqueci-me das chaves.
I forgot my keys. (reflexive — the everyday way to say it)
In Portugal, the reflexive esquecer-se de dominates everyday speech. The non-reflexive esquecer is still standard and appears in writing, but if you hear someone speaking naturally, you will almost always hear the reflexive form.
Why the pronoun is "built in"
It is worth understanding why these verbs are inherently reflexive, not just memorizing the list. The pronoun in these verbs often marks that the subject is not just the agent of the action — the subject is also internally affected by it. You do not regret things that happen to other people in the same abstract way; regret is something you turn inward. You do not complain in an impersonal, external way; complaining implies your own subjective experience. The reflexive pronoun marks this "the subject is also the one feeling it" quality.
This is not a hard rule — language is messier than that. But it is a useful heuristic. Verbs of emotional posture (arrepender-se, orgulhar-se, queixar-se, vangloriar-se), cognition (lembrar-se, esquecer-se, aperceber-se), and volitional self-involvement (atrever-se, esforçar-se, resignar-se) concentrate in the inherently reflexive category because they describe states you cannot really have "from the outside."
Clitic placement with inherent reflexives
The placement rules are the same as for any other reflexive verb: enclitic by default, proclitic when triggered. But inherent reflexives tend to appear in emotional and cognitive contexts — which means they often appear in subordinate clauses, in negatives, and after adverbs like nunca and sempre. This makes proclitic placement more common here than with simple physical-care reflexives.
Arrepender-se-á desta decisão, garanto-te.
He'll regret this decision, I promise you. (future mesoclisis — formal/literary)
Não me arrependo de nada.
I don't regret anything. (negation triggers proclitic)
Nunca me queixei dos meus colegas.
I never complained about my colleagues.
Espero que te apercebas do que estás a fazer.
I hope you realize what you're doing. (subordinate clause triggers proclitic)
Quem se atreve a entrar naquela casa à noite?
Who dares to enter that house at night? (interrogative triggers proclitic)
For the complete placement rules, see Pronoun Placement with Reflexives.
Full paradigm: arrepender-se de in the present indicative
Because inherent reflexives are defined by their pronoun, it helps to see a full paradigm. Arrepender-se is regular except for its lexical inherentness.
| Subject | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| eu | arrependo-me de... | não me arrependo de... |
| tu | arrependes-te de... | não te arrependes de... |
| ele / ela / você | arrepende-se de... | não se arrepende de... |
| nós | arrependemo-nos de... | não nos arrependemos de... |
| eles / elas / vocês | arrependem-se de... | não se arrependem de... |
Notice that every form carries a reflexive pronoun — you cannot simply say arrependo or arrependemos. The pronoun is obligatory.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu queixo do barulho.
Incorrect — queixar is inherently reflexive. The pronoun is not optional.
✅ Eu queixo-me do barulho.
I complain about the noise.
❌ Arrependi de ter dito isso.
Incorrect — arrepender is inherently reflexive. Must include -me.
✅ Arrependi-me de ter dito isso.
I regretted having said that.
❌ Lembro o nome dele.
Incorrect in the 'remember' sense — without the reflexive pronoun, lembrar means 'to remind,' not 'to remember.' This sentence would mean 'I remind (someone of) his name' — which needs an indirect object to make sense at all. Use lembrar-se de for 'remember.'
✅ Lembro-me do nome dele.
I remember his name.
❌ Eles orgulham-se os filhos.
Incorrect — orgulhar-se takes the preposition de. 'To be proud of' needs 'de'.
✅ Eles orgulham-se dos filhos.
They are proud of their children.
❌ Ela não se apercebe o perigo.
Incorrect — aperceber-se also takes de. Must be 'aperceber-se do perigo.'
✅ Ela não se apercebe do perigo.
She doesn't realize the danger.
❌ Dedicou a ajudar os outros.
Incorrect — dedicar-se is reflexive when the subject is the one doing the dedicating. Must include -se.
✅ Dedicou-se a ajudar os outros.
He dedicated himself to helping others.
Key Takeaways
- Inherently reflexive verbs cannot drop the pronoun — arrepender-se, queixar-se, orgulhar-se, esforçar-se, aperceber-se, atrever-se, deparar-se and others simply do not exist without their reflexive marker.
- Most take a preposition, and you must memorize both pieces together: arrepender-se de, orgulhar-se de, atrever-se a, deparar-se com.
- Lembrar-se de and esquecer-se de are the high-frequency cases. Their non-reflexive forms (lembrar "to remind," esquecer "to forget") exist but mean something different or are less colloquial.
- The pronoun in these verbs signals that the subject is internally affected — regret, pride, complaint, realization are all "inward-facing" actions, which is why the reflexive marker is built in.
- Clitic placement follows the standard rules: enclitic by default (arrependo-me, queixamo-nos), proclitic after negation, subordination, certain adverbs, and interrogatives (não me arrependo, quando me arrependo).
Related Topics
- Reflexive Verbs OverviewA2 — What reflexive verbs are in European Portuguese — the pronouns, the clitic placement rules, the five main categories (true reflexive, inherent, reciprocal, middle, and se-passive), and the key PT-PT vs PT-BR differences.
- Common Reflexive VerbsA2 — The core set of reflexive verbs in European Portuguese — lavar-se, vestir-se, sentir-se, chamar-se, and the rest — with full paradigms, natural examples, and notes on prepositions and clitic placement.
- Reflexive vs Non-Reflexive: Meaning ShiftsB1 — The Portuguese verbs whose meaning changes — sometimes subtly, sometimes completely — when you add se. Lembrar vs lembrar-se, ir vs ir-se, sair vs sair-se, and a dozen more.
- Pronoun Placement with Reflexive VerbsB1 — The definitive reference for where to put the reflexive pronoun in European Portuguese — enclisis by default, proclisis after every trigger, mesoclisis in the formal future and conditional, and the nós -s drop.
- Reciprocal Verbs — Each OtherB1 — How European Portuguese uses the reflexive pronoun with plural subjects to mean 'each other' — the pattern, the ambiguity with true reflexives, and the disambiguators um ao outro and mutuamente.
- Reflexive Pronouns (Me, Te, Se, Nos, Vos, Se)A2 — The full paradigm of Portuguese reflexive pronouns — what they mean, which verbs take them, and how they express reflexive, reciprocal, and idiomatic meanings.