Your Own Body (þvo sér um hendurnar)

Level 4

Ég þvoði mér um hendurnar. (I washed my hands.) Literally: I washed me around the hands.

How It Works

The pattern. verb + reflexive pronoun + preposition + body part with the article:

  • þvo sér um hendurnar (wash your hands), þvo sér um hárið (wash your hair)
  • bursta í sér tennurnar (brush your teeth)
  • klóra sér í höfðinu (scratch your head)

Match the person. sér is only for he, she, it and they (see sig/sér/sín). For I, you and we, use mér and þér, okkur and ykkur:

  • Ég þvæ mér um hendurnar.
  • Þvoðu þér um hendurnar!
  • Við burstum í okkur tennurnar.

The verb decides the case. Most of these verbs take the dative. A verb that takes an accusative object keeps it: Ég meiddi mig í fætinum (I hurt my foot).

Someone else's body. Put that person in the dative instead of the reflexive: Pabbi þvoði barninu um hárið (Dad washed the child's hair). To name the owner of a body part elsewhere, use á or í + dative: Fóturinn á mér er bólginn (My foot is swollen). Pain works the same way: Mér er illt í maganum (see mér er kalt).

Why not minn? You will sometimes hear a possessive, as in Ég þvoði hendurnar mínar, but the reflexive pattern is the usual way to say it. The reflexive already shows whose hands they are.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég þvoði mér um hendurnar.

    I washed my hands.

    Word by Word: I washed me around the-hands.

  2. Hún burstar í sér tennurnar á hverju kvöldi.

    She brushes her teeth every evening.

    Word by Word: She brushes in herself the-teeth on every evening.

  3. Þvoðu þér um hendurnar áður en þú borðar.

    Wash your hands before you eat.

    Word by Word: Wash-you you around the-hands before you eat.

  4. Hann klóraði sér í höfðinu.

    He scratched his head.

    Word by Word: He scratched himself in the-head.

  5. Ég meiddi mig í fætinum.

    I hurt my foot.

    Word by Word: I hurt me in the-foot.

    meiða takes the accusative, so the reflexive is mig, not mér.

  6. Pabbi þvoði barninu um hárið.

    Dad washed the child's hair.

    Word by Word: Dad washed the-child around the-hair.

    For someone else's body, that person goes in the dative.

Common Mistakes

  • Using sér with I or you.

    Ég þvoði sér um hendurnar.
    Ég þvoði mér um hendurnar.

    sér refers only to he, she, it or they. With ég, the reflexive is mér.

  • Using henni or honum for your own body.

    Hún burstar í henni tennurnar.
    Hún burstar í sér tennurnar.

    í henni means in another woman, so they would be someone else's teeth. For her own teeth, use sér.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Your Own Body (þvo sér um hendurnar)Level 4

Learn This First

Body parts with the dative build on sig and the article.

Words in This Pattern

sérþvoummér