Spanish Reflexive Verbs for Getting Up, Washing, and Getting Dressed

In this lesson, you will learn three common Spanish reflexive verbs for daily routines: — to get up, — to wash oneself, and — to get dressed.

A reflexive verb describes an action that the subject does to himself, herself, or themselves. In Spanish, these verbs are commonly used with short reflexive pronouns such as — myself, — yourself, and — himself / herself / yourself / themselves.

Recognizing a reflexive infinitive

In the dictionary form, a reflexive verb ends in -.

— to get up
— to wash oneself
— to get dressed

The - shows that the verb is reflexive. When you use the verb with a subject, the reflexive form changes with that subject.

The basic reflexive forms

Subject	Reflexive form	English idea
— I	— myself	I do the action to myself
— you	— yourself	you do the action to yourself
/ / — he / she / you	— himself / herself / yourself	the subject does the action reflexively
/ — we	— ourselves	we do the action to ourselves
/ — you all	— yourselves	you all do the action reflexively
/ / — they / you all	— themselves / yourselves	the subject does the action reflexively

For this lesson, focus on recognizing and using complete present-tense forms. A later lesson will examine reflexive pronoun placement more systematically.

Levantarse — to get up

— to get up is a regular -AR reflexive verb.

Subject	Spanish	English
— I	— I get up	I get up
— you	— you get up	you get up
/ / — he / she / you	— he / she gets up; you get up	he / she gets up; you get up
/ — we	— we get up	we get up
/ — you all	— you all get up	you all get up
/ / — they / you all	— they get up; you all get up	they get up; you all get up

Using levantarse with a time

You can combine — to get up with time expressions you already know.

— I get up at seven.
— You get up at eight.
— He / she gets up at six.
— We get up at seven.

Asking what time someone gets up

Use the familiar question phrase ¿A qué hora...? — At what time...?

— What time do you get up?

Person A: — What time do you get up?

Person B: — I get up at seven.

Lavarse — to wash oneself

— to wash oneself is also a regular -AR reflexive verb.

Subject	Spanish	English
— I	— I wash myself	I wash myself
— you	— you wash yourself	you wash yourself
/ / — he / she / you	— he / she washes; you wash yourself	he / she washes; you wash yourself
/ — we	— we wash ourselves	we wash ourselves
/ — you all	— you all wash yourselves	you all wash yourselves
/ / — they / you all	— they wash themselves; you all wash yourselves	they wash themselves; you all wash yourselves

Washing parts of the body

Spanish commonly uses the definite article with body parts in reflexive routines.

— I wash my hands.
— I wash my face.
— You wash your hands.
— He / she washes his / her face.
— We wash our hands.

In these expressions, the reflexive form already shows whose body is involved, — the hands and — the face rather than a possessive adjective.

Asking what someone washes

Use qué — what with the familiar reflexive form.

— What do you wash?

Person A: — What do you wash?

Person B: — I wash my hands.

Vestirse — to get dressed

— to get dressed is reflexive and also uses the e-to-i stem change that you already know from verbs such as pedir — to ask for and — to repeat.

Subject	Spanish	English
— I	— I get dressed	I get dressed
— you	— you get dressed	you get dressed
/ / — he / she / you	— he / she gets dressed; you get dressed	he / she gets dressed; you get dressed
/ — we	— we get dressed	we get dressed
/ — you all	— you all get dressed	you all get dressed
/ / — they / you all	— they get dressed; you all get dressed	they get dressed; you all get dressed

The e changes to i in , , , and . It does not change in or .

Using vestirse in simple routine statements

— I get dressed in the morning.
— You get dressed in the morning.
— He / she gets dressed at seven.
— We get dressed in the morning.

Asking when someone gets dressed

Use cuándo — when.

— When do you get dressed?

Person A: — When do you get dressed?

Person B: — I get dressed in the morning.

Comparing the three yo forms

Infinitive	Yo form	English
— to get up	— I get up	I get up
— to wash oneself	— I wash myself	I wash myself
— to get dressed	— I get dressed	I get dressed

The reflexive form stays the same for — I, while the verb itself changes according to its conjugation pattern.

Comparing tú forms

— You get up at seven.
— You wash your hands.
— You get dressed in the morning.

The reflexive form for — you is — yourself.

Comparing third-person forms

— He / she gets up at six.
— He / she washes his / her face.
— He / she gets dressed in the morning.

The reflexive form can refer to — he, — she, or — formal you depending on context.

Comparing nosotros forms

— We get up at seven.
— We wash our hands.
— We get dressed in the morning.

The reflexive form for / — we is — ourselves.

Do not leave out the reflexive form

For these daily-routine meanings, the reflexive form is part of the complete expression.

Compare:

. — I wash myself.
— I wash the T-shirt.

. — I wash myself describes an action directed at the subject. — I wash the T-shirt describes an action directed at another object.

Reflexive and non-reflexive meaning

Another useful contrast is:

— I wash my hands.
— I wash the shirt.

The reflexive form changes the relationship between the subject and the action.

Using familiar time expressions

You can combine these verbs with time expressions already learned.

— I get up at six.
— I wash my face in the morning.
— I get dressed at seven.

For now, describe each routine action separately. The next lesson focuses specifically on connecting routine actions in sequence.

A short routine description

Read these three separate facts:

— I get up at seven. I wash my face. I get dressed.

The three actions use the same reflexive subject form — myself because the subject is — I.

A routine with another person

— Ana gets up at six. She washes her face. She gets dressed at seven.

The form appears with all three actions because Ana is a third-person subject.

Asking about a daily routine

You can ask several short questions using forms from this lesson.

Person A: — What time do you get up?

Person B: — I get up at seven.

Person A: — Do you wash your face in the morning?

Person B: — Yes, I wash my face in the morning.

Person A: — When do you get dressed?

Person B: — I get dressed in the morning.

Recognizing the subject from the reflexive form

The reflexive form gives you an important clue about the subject.

— I get up
— you get up
— he / she gets up; you get up
— we get up
— you all get up
— they get up; you all get up

This is especially useful when the subject pronoun is omitted, as often happens in Spanish.

Using the forms without subject pronouns

Spanish often does not need — I or — you when the verb form is clear.

— I get up at seven.
— You get up at eight.
— We get dressed in the morning.

The reflexive form and verb ending together usually identify the subject.

A practical conjugation method

When using one of these reflexive verbs in the present tense, use this sequence:

Identify the subject.
Choose the matching reflexive form: , , , , , or .
Conjugate the verb for the same subject.
Remember that — to get dressed changes e to i except in / and / .
Add a time or familiar detail if useful.

From Reflexive Verbs to Sequencing a Routine

You can now use — to get up, — to wash oneself, and — to get dressed in the present tense with the correct reflexive forms. The next lesson teaches primero, luego, and después so you can put daily routine actions into a clear sequence.