Cepillarse Conjugation | How to Conjugate Cepillarse in Spanish

Cepillarse means “to brush oneself,” especially one’s teeth or hair. You will learn its regular pronominal -AR conjugation, clitic placement, body-part constructions, and commands.

Cepillarse conjugation at a glance

Verb type: Regular AR. Linguistically, cepillarse is pronominal and uses regular -AR verbal morphology with person-matched clitics: me cepillo, te cepillas, se cepilla, nos cepillamos, os cepilláis, se cepillan.

Cepillarse gerund, past participle, and infinitive

The pronominal infinitive keeps se. The gerund can carry an attached clitic, and compound non-finite forms combine the clitic with haber. The participle cepillado remains invariant in compound forms.

Form	Spanish	Natural English guide
Infinitive	cepillarse	to brush oneself
Gerund	cepillándose	brushing oneself
Past participle	cepillado	brushed
Compound infinitive	haberse cepillado	to have brushed oneself
Compound gerund	habiéndose cepillado	having brushed oneself

Cepillarse meaning and essential uses

RAE records cepillar as also pronominal for brushing or grooming, especially hair. In everyday learner Spanish, cepillarse los dientes — “to brush one’s teeth” — is a core pattern.

With body parts, Spanish normally uses the definite article rather than a possessive because the pronominal clitic identifies the possessor: Me cepillo los dientes. — “I brush my teeth.”

Cepillarse conjugation pattern and pronoun placement

Cepillarse follows regular -AR verbal morphology. Add the person-matched clitic before finite forms: me cepillo, te cepillaste, se cepillará, nos cepillemos.

Affirmative commands attach the clitic: cepíllate, cepíllese, cepillémonos, cepillaos, cepíllense. Negative commands keep the clitic before the verb.

Cepillarse indicative and periphrastic conjugations

Cepillarse present tense conjugation

Present indicative (el presente de indicativo) — Use it for current situations, habits, facts, and contextually near-future reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me cepillo	I brush myself / brush
Tú — you, singular informal	te cepillas	you brush yourself / brush
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se cepilla	he / she brushes himself / herself; you brush yourself / brush (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos cepillamos	we brush ourselves / brush
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os cepilláis	you brush yourselves / brush (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se cepillan	they brush themselves / brush; you brush yourselves / brush (plural)

• Me cepillo los dientes después de desayunar. — I brush my teeth after breakfast.

Cepillarse preterite conjugation

Preterite (el pretérito perfecto simple / pretérito indefinido) — Use it for completed or bounded past events. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me cepillé	I brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te cepillaste	you brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se cepilló	he / she brushed himself / herself / brushed; you brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos cepillamos	we brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os cepillasteis	you brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se cepillaron	they brushed themselves / brushed; you brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Ayer me cepillé el pelo antes de salir. — Yesterday I brushed my hair before going out.

Cepillarse imperfect conjugation

Imperfect (el pretérito imperfecto) — Use it for habitual, descriptive, background, or ongoing past situations. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me cepillaba	I used to brush myself / brush / was brushing myself / brushing
Tú — you, singular informal	te cepillabas	you used to brush yourself / brush / were brushing yourself / brushing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se cepillaba	he / she used to brush himself / herself / brush / was brushing himself / herself / brushing; you used to brush yourself / brush / were brushing yourself / brushing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos cepillábamos	we used to brush ourselves / brush / were brushing ourselves / brushing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os cepillabais	you used to brush yourselves / brush / were brushing yourselves / brushing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se cepillaban	they used to brush themselves / brush / were brushing themselves / brushing; you used to brush yourselves / brush / were brushing yourselves / brushing (plural)

• De niño me cepillaba los dientes con ayuda. — As a child, I used to brush my teeth with help.

Cepillarse present progressive

Present progressive — This verbal periphrasis focuses on an action or process in progress. The main table places the clitic before estar. Attaching it to the gerund is also standard: estoy cepillándome.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me estoy cepillando	I am brushing myself / brushing
Tú — you, singular informal	te estás cepillando	you are brushing yourself / brushing
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se está cepillando	he / she is brushing himself / herself / brushing; you are brushing yourself / brushing (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos estamos cepillando	we are brushing ourselves / brushing
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os estáis cepillando	you are brushing yourselves / brushing (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se están cepillando	they are brushing themselves / brushing; you are brushing yourselves / brushing (plural)

• Me estoy cepillando los dientes. — I am brushing my teeth.

Cepillarse near future conjugation

Near future — This verbal periphrasis expresses an intention, plan, or expected event. The main table places the clitic before ir. Attaching it to the infinitive is also standard: voy a cepillarme.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me voy a cepillar	I am going to brush myself / brush
Tú — you, singular informal	te vas a cepillar	you are going to brush yourself / brush
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se va a cepillar	he / she is going to brush himself / herself / brush; you are going to brush yourself / brush (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos vamos a cepillar	we are going to brush ourselves / brush
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os vais a cepillar	you are going to brush yourselves / brush (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se van a cepillar	they are going to brush themselves / brush; you are going to brush yourselves / brush (plural)

• Me voy a cepillar el pelo. — I am going to brush my hair.

Cepillarse future tense conjugation

Simple future (el futuro simple) — Use it for future reference and, where useful, probability. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me cepillaré	I will brush myself / brush
Tú — you, singular informal	te cepillarás	you will brush yourself / brush
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se cepillará	he / she will brush himself / herself / brush; you will brush yourself / brush (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos cepillaremos	we will brush ourselves / brush
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os cepillaréis	you will brush yourselves / brush (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se cepillarán	they will brush themselves / brush; you will brush yourselves / brush (plural)

• Nos cepillaremos los dientes antes de dormir. — We will brush our teeth before sleeping.

Cepillarse conditional conjugation

Conditional (el condicional simple) — Use it for hypothetical outcomes, softened statements, or related conditional meanings. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me cepillaría	I would brush myself / brush
Tú — you, singular informal	te cepillarías	you would brush yourself / brush
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se cepillaría	he / she would brush himself / herself / brush; you would brush yourself / brush (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos cepillaríamos	we would brush ourselves / brush
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os cepillaríais	you would brush yourselves / brush (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se cepillarían	they would brush themselves / brush; you would brush yourselves / brush (plural)

• Me cepillaría el pelo otra vez si tuviera tiempo. — I would brush my hair again if I had time.

Cepillarse present perfect conjugation

Present perfect (el pretérito perfecto compuesto) — Use it for completed events connected to a present reference frame; regional distribution varies. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me he cepillado	I have brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te has cepillado	you have brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se ha cepillado	he / she has brushed himself / herself / brushed; you have brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hemos cepillado	we have brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habéis cepillado	you have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se han cepillado	they have brushed themselves / brushed; you have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Me he cepillado los dientes. — I have brushed my teeth.

Cepillarse past perfect conjugation

Past perfect (el pretérito pluscuamperfecto) — Use it for an event completed before another past reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me había cepillado	I had brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te habías cepillado	you had brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se había cepillado	he / she had brushed himself / herself / brushed; you had brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habíamos cepillado	we had brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habíais cepillado	you had brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habían cepillado	they had brushed themselves / brushed; you had brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Ya nos habíamos cepillado antes de salir. — We had already brushed before going out.

Cepillarse future perfect conjugation

Future perfect (el futuro perfecto) — Use it for an event expected to be completed before a future reference point. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me habré cepillado	I will have brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te habrás cepillado	you will have brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se habrá cepillado	he / she will have brushed himself / herself / brushed; you will have brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habremos cepillado	we will have brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habréis cepillado	you will have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habrán cepillado	they will have brushed themselves / brushed; you will have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Para entonces se habrán cepillado todos. — By then everyone will have brushed.

Cepillarse conditional perfect conjugation

Conditional perfect (el condicional compuesto) — Use it for a hypothetical completed outcome. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me habría cepillado	I would have brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te habrías cepillado	you would have brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se habría cepillado	he / she would have brushed himself / herself / brushed; you would have brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos habríamos cepillado	we would have brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os habríais cepillado	you would have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se habrían cepillado	they would have brushed themselves / brushed; you would have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Me habría cepillado los dientes antes. — I would have brushed my teeth earlier.

Cepillarse subjunctive conjugations

Cepillarse present subjunctive conjugation

Present subjunctive (el presente de subjuntivo) — Use it in subordinate environments involving wishes, influence, emotion, doubt or denial, evaluation, necessity, possibility, or non-specific reference. The table uses the verified paradigm.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me cepille	that I brush myself / brush
Tú — you, singular informal	te cepilles	that you brush yourself / brush
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se cepille	that he / she brush himself / herself / brush; that you brush yourself / brush (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos cepillemos	that we brush ourselves / brush
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os cepilléis	that you brush yourselves / brush (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se cepillen	that they brush themselves / brush; that you brush yourselves / brush (plural)

• Quiero que te cepilles los dientes. — I want you to brush your teeth.

Cepillarse imperfect subjunctive conjugation

Imperfect subjunctive (el imperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses the -ra series. The accepted -se series is also valid in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me cepillara	that I brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te cepillaras	that you brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se cepillara	that he / she brushed himself / herself / brushed; that you brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos cepilláramos	that we brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os cepillarais	that you brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se cepillaran	that they brushed themselves / brushed; that you brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Preferían que nos cepilláramos antes de acostarnos. — They preferred that we brush before going to bed.
• Era mejor que te cepillases el pelo antes de la foto. — It was better for you to brush your hair before the photo.

Cepillarse future subjunctive conjugation

Future subjunctive (el futuro de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. It survives mainly in formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical contexts. These rare reference forms belong mainly to formal, legal, proverbial, literary, or historical registers.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me cepillare	if / when I should brush myself / brush
Tú — you, singular informal	te cepillares	if / when you should brush yourself / brush
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se cepillare	if / when he / she should brush himself / herself / brush; if / when you should brush yourself / brush (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos cepilláremos	if / when we should brush ourselves / brush
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os cepillareis	if / when you should brush yourselves / brush (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se cepillaren	if / when they should brush themselves / brush; if / when you should brush yourselves / brush (plural)

• Quien se cepillare los dientes en el área clínica deberá seguir el protocolo. — Whoever should brush their teeth in the clinical area must follow the protocol.

Cepillarse present perfect subjunctive conjugation

Present perfect subjunctive (el pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) — Use it when a completed event appears inside a present- or future-oriented subjunctive environment. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me haya cepillado	that I have brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te hayas cepillado	that you have brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se haya cepillado	that he / she has brushed himself / herself / brushed; that you have brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hayamos cepillado	that we have brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hayáis cepillado	that you have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hayan cepillado	that they have brushed themselves / brushed; that you have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Me alegra que te hayas cepillado los dientes. — I am glad that you brushed your teeth.

Cepillarse past perfect subjunctive conjugation

Past perfect subjunctive (el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) — The main table uses hubiera; hubiese is an accepted auxiliary alternative in many contexts and is demonstrated after the table. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me hubiera cepillado	that I had brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te hubieras cepillado	that you had brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se hubiera cepillado	that he / she had brushed himself / herself / brushed; that you had brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hubiéramos cepillado	that we had brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hubierais cepillado	that you had brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hubieran cepillado	that they had brushed themselves / brushed; that you had brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Si me hubiera cepillado antes, habría salido más rápido. — If I had brushed earlier, I would have left faster.
• Si te hubieses cepillado bien los dientes, no quedaría comida. — If you had brushed your teeth well, no food would remain.

Cepillarse future perfect subjunctive conjugation

Future perfect subjunctive (el futuro perfecto de subjuntivo) — Rare in modern everyday Spanish. Treat it as a formal or historical reference form, not an everyday conversational target. The clitic precedes the finite form of haber, followed by invariant cepillado.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Yo — I	me hubiere cepillado	if / when I should have brushed myself / brushed
Tú — you, singular informal	te hubieres cepillado	if / when you should have brushed yourself / brushed
Él / Ella / Usted — he / she / you, singular formal	se hubiere cepillado	if / when he / she should have brushed himself / herself / brushed; if / when you should have brushed yourself / brushed (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we	nos hubiéremos cepillado	if / when we should have brushed ourselves / brushed
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	os hubiereis cepillado	if / when you should have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes — they / you, plural	se hubieren cepillado	if / when they should have brushed themselves / brushed; if / when you should have brushed yourselves / brushed (plural)

• Si se hubieren cepillado con ese producto, deberán indicarlo. — If they should have brushed with that product, they must state it.

Cepillarse imperative and commands

Commands address another person directly. The nosotros/nosotras row is a present-subjunctive form used with exhortative “let’s…” value.

Cepillarse affirmative commands

In affirmative pronominal commands, attach the clitic and recompute accentuation. The nosotros/nosotras form loses final -s before nos, and the usual vosotros/vosotras form loses -d before os.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	cepíllate	brush yourself
Usted — you, singular formal	cepíllese	brush yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	cepillémonos	let’s brush ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	cepillaos	brush yourselves (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	cepíllense	brush yourselves (plural)

• Cepíllate los dientes. — Brush your teeth.

Cepillarse negative commands

Negative commands use subjunctive-based forms, with no before the person-matched clitic and the verb.

Pronoun and English meaning	Spanish	Natural English guide
Tú — you, singular informal	no te cepilles	do not brush yourself
Usted — you, singular formal	no se cepille	do not brush yourself (formal)
Nosotros / Nosotras — we; let’s…	no nos cepillemos	let’s not brush ourselves
Vosotros / Vosotras — you, plural informal, mainly Spain	no os cepilléis	do not brush yourselves (plural, mainly Spain)
Ustedes — you, plural	no se cepillen	do not brush yourselves (plural)

• No te cepilles con demasiada fuerza. — Do not brush too hard.

Common constructions with Cepillarse

These patterns show sentence frames that materially affect how the target verb is used.

• cepillarse los dientes. — to brush one’s teeth.
• cepillarse el pelo / cabello. — to brush one’s hair.
• cepillarse antes / después de + infinitive or event. — to brush before / after doing something.

Example sentences with Cepillarse

These examples reinforce useful forms and contexts already taught in the lesson.

• Me cepillo los dientes dos veces al día. — I brush my teeth twice a day.
• Voy a cepillarme el pelo. — I am going to brush my hair.
• Estoy cepillándome los dientes. — I am brushing my teeth.
• Espero que te cepilles después de comer. — I hope you brush after eating.
• Ya se han cepillado. — They have already brushed.
• Cepíllense los dientes antes de dormir. — Brush your teeth before sleeping.

Regional and usage notes for Cepillarse

The core tables retain tú, usted, vosotros/vosotras, and ustedes. Voseo changes some second-person singular forms where vos is used.

• Vos te cepillás los dientes después de comer. — You brush your teeth after eating. (voseo)
• Cepillate los dientes ahora. — Brush your teeth now. (affirmative vos command)

Cepillarse is morphologically regular. The main learner tasks are clitic placement and body-part syntax: Spanish normally says me cepillo los dientes, using the article because the clitic already identifies the possessor.