Reflexive verbs—which take a pronoun like mig, dig, sig, oss, or er—do more than just describe daily routines like washing or shaving. They are also used to describe involuntary events, emotional shifts, and personal life changes.
Emotional and Physical Shifts
Swedish often uses reflexive verbs for physical recovery or sudden emotional changes. For example, återhämta sig means "to recover" physically or mentally:
| It takes time to recover. | Det tar tid att återhämta sig. |
Similarly, förälska sig means "to fall in love," capturing that involuntary emotional shift:
| They are falling in love with each other. | De håller på att förälska sig i varandra. |
Reactions and States of Mind
Reflexive verbs frequently express reactions to a situation. Use bekymra sig for worrying or being concerned:
| Try to not worry about the future. | Försök att inte bekymra dig för framtiden. |
Conversely, when someone is having a good time, use roa sig (to amuse oneself):
| The teenager amuses himself without disturbing anyone. | Tonåringen roar sig utan att störa någon. |
Acquiring Traits and Changing Life States
Reflexive verbs are the standard way to talk about entering a new phase of life. Utbilda sig (literally "to educate oneself") is how you say "to train" or "to study" for a specific profession:
| He wants to train to be a doctor. | Han vill utbilda sig till läkare. |
When deciding where to live permanently, use bosätta sig (to settle down):
| The couple plans to settle down in the countryside. | Paret planerar att bosätta sig på landsbygden. |
Mental Boundaries and Illusions
Some reflexive verbs describe setting a boundary or creating a mental image. Nöja sig means to "content oneself" or "settle for" something:
| We cannot settle for this result. | Vi kan inte nöja oss med det här resultatet. |
Inbilla sig means "to imagine" or "to trick oneself into believing" something untrue:
| She imagines that the boss hates her. | Hon inbillar sig att chefen hatar henne. |
Reflexives with Prepositions and Particles
Reflexive verbs often pair with specific prepositions or particles. Ägna sig åt means "to devote oneself to" and requires the preposition åt:
| Many devote themselves to sports in their free time. | Många ägnar sig åt sport på fritiden. |
Rycka upp sig is a phrasal reflexive verb meaning "to pull oneself together," using the particle upp (up):
| He really needs to pull himself together. | Han behöver verkligen rycka upp sig. |