In Icelandic, when you do an action to yourself—like grooming or getting ready—you use reflexive verbs. While the third person uses a special reflexive pronoun, the first person (I, we) and second person (you) do not.
Instead, you just use the standard personal object pronouns to mean "myself," "yourself," etc. The form of the pronoun depends entirely on whether the specific verb takes the accusative or dative case.
| Person | Accusative | Dative |
|---|---|---|
| I | mig | mér |
| You (singular) | þig | þér |
| We | okkur | okkur |
| You (plural) | ykkur | ykkur |
Accusative Reflexive Verbs
For actions that take the accusative case, use mig and þig. You will see this with verbs like að farða sig (to put makeup on) and að snyrta sig (to freshen up / groom oneself).
| I want to put makeup on for the dance. | Mig langar að farða mig fyrir ballið. |
| Do you use the lipstick when you put makeup on? | Notar þú varalitinn þegar þú farðar þig? |
| You need to freshen up now. | Þú þarft að snyrta þig núna. |
| I am going into the bathroom to freshen up. | Ég fer inn á baðherbergið til að snyrta mig. |
Dative Reflexive Verbs
Other reflexive verbs require the dative case, meaning you will use mér and þér. A common example is að greiða sér (to comb one's hair):
| I comb my hair and use the hairdryer. | Ég greiði mér og nota hárblásarann. |
| Do you need the hairdryer when you comb your hair? | Þarft þú hárblásarann þegar þú greiðir þér? |
Another useful dative reflexive verb is að flýta sér (to hurry). Notice how addressing a group ("yourselves") simply uses the standard dative plural pronoun ykkur.
| I need to hurry now! | Ég þarf að flýta mér núna! |
| You guys also need to hurry. | Þið þurfið líka að flýta ykkur. |