Reciprocal Verbs (Each Other)

When two people act on each other — meet each other, kiss, greet, say goodbye, quarrel and make up — Russian very often packs that mutual sense into a single -ся verb, with no separate word for "each other" at all. Они́ встреча́ются means "they meet each other"; Мы поцелова́лись means "we kissed." This is one of the cleanest payoffs of the -ся system: the reflexive ending, which usually turns an action back on the subject, here turns it between two subjects. This page lists the everyday reciprocal -ся verbs, shows how to name the other party (с + instrumental), and then covers the explicit phrase друг дру́га ("each other") — including its one genuinely strange feature, the preposition that lands in the middle of the phrase.

The reciprocal -ся verbs

A reciprocal -ся verb describes an action that goes both ways at once: each party is both doer and target. Because the mutuality lives in the verb, the subject is almost always plural (or a "we/you/they" that implies two sides), and you do not — must not — add a separate "each other."

Here are the high-frequency ones, glossed on first encounter:

Naming the other party: с + instrumental

Often you want to say who the other party is. With a reciprocal -ся verb, the partner is introduced by с + the instrumental case — literally "(together) with." The verb stays plural-minded but the grammatical subject can be singular, with с + instr supplying the second side.

The мы с тобо́й idiom

A very Russian habit: instead of "you and I," Russians say мы с тобо́й — literally "we with you," meaning "you and I (together)." The verb agrees with мы (plural). The same goes for мы с бра́том ("my brother and I"), мы с ма́мой ("Mum and I"). It feels redundant to an English ear, but it is the standard, natural phrasing.

The explicit "each other": друг дру́га

When the verb is not reciprocal on its own — помога́ть ("help"), люби́ть ("love"), понима́ть ("understand"), ждать ("wait for") — Russian uses the standalone phrase друг дру́га ("each other / one another"). Despite its spelling, друг here is not "friend"; it's a frozen reciprocal word that happens to look identical. The phrase declines on its second element (дру́га, дру́гу, дру́гом, дру́ге) to match the case the verb or preposition demands, while the first друг stays fixed.

The strange part: the preposition goes in the MIDDLE

This is the feature learners get wrong almost every time. When "each other" sits under a preposition (с, о, к, на, за…), the preposition does not go in front of the whole phrase. It slots between the two words: друг с дру́гом, друг о дру́ге, друг к дру́гу, друг на дру́га, друг за дру́гом. The first друг stays put; the preposition wraps inside; the second друг takes the case the preposition governs.

So "with each other" is друг с дру́гом, never *с друг дру́гом. "About each other" is друг о дру́ге, never *о друг дру́ге. This is genuinely unusual word order — a preposition embedded inside the phrase it governs — and there is no shortcut: you simply learn that друг…друга wraps around the preposition.

Reciprocal -ся vs. accompaniment с + instr: a real ambiguity

A subtle trap: с + instrumental can mean either the reciprocal partner ("with each other") or mere accompaniment ("together with, alongside"). With a reciprocal verb the two readings often collapse, but with an ordinary verb they split apart.

• Мы с тобо́й встре́тимся — reciprocal: we'll meet each other.
• Мы с тобо́й пойдём в кино́ — accompaniment: you and I will go to the cinema together (we don't "go each other").

The test: ask whether the action is inherently mutual (meet, kiss, quarrel) or merely shared (go, eat, watch). Mutual → the -ся verb or друг дру́га carries true reciprocity. Shared → с + instr is just "together with," and there is no "each other" meaning to express.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Many "each other" meanings are built into a -ся verb (встреча́ться, цело́ваться, ссо́риться, проща́ться) — no separate word is needed, and adding друг дру́га is an error.
• Name the other party with с + instrumental: встреча́ться с дру́гом, поссо́риться с сосе́дом, познако́миться с ке́м-то.
• Use мы с тобо́й / мы с бра́том ("you and I / my brother and I") with a plural verb — the standard, natural phrasing.
• For non-reflexive verbs, "each other" is друг дру́га, declining on the second word: друг дру́гу (dat), друг дру́гом (instr), друг дру́ге (prep).
• Under a preposition the preposition goes in the middle: друг с дру́гом, друг о дру́ге, друг к дру́гу — never *с друг дру́гом.
• Distinguish true reciprocal (mutual action) from accompaniment ("together with"): мы с тобо́й встре́тимся (each other) vs. мы с тобо́й пойдём (together).