Meet the reflexive verbs: "Mi chiamo", "Ti alzi", and friends!
Learning Italian with simple reflexive verbs (chiamarsi, alzarsi...)
If you’ve been learning Italian for a bit, you’ve probably bumped into sentences like:
Mi chiamo Alessia.
Ti alzi presto?
Si lavano le mani.
These are reflexive verbs and yes, they look a little weird at first. Why is everyone doing things to themselves? Don't worry, it's not as mysterious as it seems. Let’s break it down together.
What are reflexive verbs?
In English, we sometimes use reflexive pronouns, like “I wash myself”, but in Italian, they show up a lot more often. A reflexive verb is just a verb where the subject and the object are the same person. In other words, the person doing the action is also receiving the action.
Let’s take a classic example:
Chiamarsi = to call oneself → Mi chiamo Alessia. = I call myself Alessia.
Sounds dramatic, right? But really, it just means “My name is Alessia.”
How do you spot a reflexive verb?
Most reflexive verbs in Italian end in -si in the infinitive form. You’ll see them listed like this:
alzarsi (to get up)
lavarsi (to wash oneself)
vestirsi (to get dressed)
divertirsi (to have fun)
That -si at the end is the giveaway: it’s a reflexive verb.
Reflexive pronouns: meet your new friends
When using reflexive verbs, you need to use the right reflexive pronoun before the verb. Here they are (don’t worry, we’ll use lots of examples below):
mi (myself)
ti (yourself)
si (himself/herself/yourself formal)
ci (ourselves)
vi (yourselves)
si (themselves/yourselves formal)
Common reflexive verbs in daily life
Let’s see them in action, in sentences you might actually use!
1. Chiamarsi – to be called (literally, to call oneself)
Mi chiamo Luca. = My name is Luca.
Come ti chiami? = What’s your name?
Lei si chiama Maria. = Her name is Maria.
Notice that the verb changes depending on who’s speaking, just like regular verbs, but you also add the reflexive pronoun.
2. Alzarsi – to get up
Mi alzo alle sette. = I get up at seven.
Ti alzi presto la mattina? = Do you get up early in the morning?
I bambini si alzano tardi la domenica. = The kids get up late on Sundays.
Perfect for talking about your daily routine!
3. Lavarsi – to wash oneself
This is super common when talking about body parts. In Italian, you don’t say "I wash my hands", you say "I wash the hands", because the reflexive verb already tells us whose hands we’re talking about!
Mi lavo le mani. = I wash my hands.
Ti lavi i capelli ogni giorno? = Do you wash your hair every day?
Dopo la palestra, ci laviamo subito. = After the gym, we wash right away.
4. Vestirsi – to get dressed
Mi vesto velocemente. = I get dressed quickly.
Quanto tempo ci metti a vestirti? = How long do you take to get dressed?
Si vestono con calma. = They get dressed slowly.
5. Divertirsi – to have fun
Yes! Even having fun in Italian is reflexive.
Mi diverto sempre alle feste. = I always have fun at parties.
Ti diverti al corso di italiano? = Are you having fun in the Italian class?
Ci divertiamo un sacco in vacanza. = We have a blast on vacation.
How to conjugate reflexive verbs?
The good news: you conjugate the verb just like you would normally (present tense, past tense, etc.). You just need to add the right reflexive pronoun in front.
Let’s look at alzarsi in the present tense (no table, promise):
io mi alzo
tu ti alzi
lui/lei si alza
noi ci alziamo
voi vi alzate
loro si alzano
Just take the verb alzare, conjugate it as usual, and stick the pronoun before it.
Mini recap: what to remember
Reflexive verbs end in -si and involve doing something to yourself.
You always need a reflexive pronoun (mi, ti, si, ci, vi, si).
They’re super common in daily routines: getting up, washing, dressing, having fun...
Don’t be scared! They’re just regular verbs with a little mirror attached!
Quick practice
Try to translate these:
I wake up at 6.
Do you wash your face?
We get dressed quickly.
They have fun at the beach.
What’s your name?
(Answers at the bottom!)
Final thoughts
Reflexive verbs might seem like a twisty bit of grammar at first, but once you see them in context, they make total sense. They're everywhere in Italian life, from the moment you get up to when you go to bed. So the more you practice them, the more natural they’ll feel.
Keep listening, reading, and speaking and soon enough you’ll find yourself saying “Mi diverto con l’italiano!” every day.
Practice answers:
Mi sveglio alle sei.
Ti lavi la faccia?
Ci vestiamo velocemente.
Si divertono alla spiaggia.
Come ti chiami?
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