mă / te / se / ne / vă / se
Reflexive Pronouns
The forms mă, te, se, ne, vă, se occur in actions directed at oneself or each other, and in verbs whose Romanian form includes a reflexive pronoun.
How It Works
Reflexive pronouns are essential for daily communication in Romanian. This list focuses on the Accusative forms, which are the most common. Note that a separate set of Dative forms (like îmi, îți) exists for other specific verbs.
Roles:
1. True Reflexive: The subject acts on themselves. Example: Mă spăl (I wash myself).
2. Reciprocal: Used in plural to mean 'each other'. Example: Ne iubim (We love each other).
3. Lexical: Many verbs are grammatically reflexive even if they don't mean 'self' in English. Example: a se numi (to be named), a se uita (to look).
4. Impersonal and Passive Uses: These need a different analysis from 'oneself'. An impersonal construction such as Se doarme bine aici (People sleep well here) uses third-person singular. In a passive construction, the verb agrees with its grammatical subject: Se vinde o casă (A house is for sale), but Se vând case (Houses are for sale). Case is plural and is the subject, not an object controlling impersonal agreement.
Forms:
- Eu: mă
- Tu: te
- El/Ea: se
- Noi: ne
- Voi: vă
- Ei/Ele: se
Word Order and Contractions:
In negative sentences, the pronoun is placed between nu and the verb: Nu mă spăl. In the compound perfect, the hyphenated contraction is mandatory: mă + am = m-am, se + a = s-a. Plural combinations include ne + am = ne-am, vă + ați = v-ați, and se + au = s-au: S-au îmbrăcat (They got dressed). In the affirmative imperative, the pronoun moves after the verb: Spală-te! (Wash yourself!). In the negative imperative, it comes before the verb: Nu te spăla! (Do not wash yourself!). The negative second-person singular command uses the infinitive form spăla; the positive command is spală.
Examples (6)
- Mă trezesc la ora șapte.
I wake up at seven o'clock.
Word by Word: Myself wake-up at hour seven.
The verb 'a se trezi' is reflexive in Romanian, even though 'wake up' isn't reflexive in English.
- Te speli pe mâini?
Are you washing your hands?
Word by Word: Yourself wash on hands?
This expression uses the reflexive verb 'a se spăla' with 'pe mâini'. Other constructions with body parts can use dative pronouns, so this is not a rule for every body-part phrase.
- Ei se văd în fiecare zi.
They see each other every day.
Word by Word: They themselves see in every day.
Here, 'se' functions as a reciprocal pronoun meaning 'each other'.
- M-am îmbrăcat repede.
I got dressed quickly.
Word by Word: Myself-have dressed quickly.
In the past tense (compound perfect), 'mă' and 'am' contract to 'm-am'.
- Cum te numești?
What is your name?
Word by Word: How yourself name?
The standard way to ask a name uses the reflexive verb 'a se numi'.
- Nu te spăla cu apă rece!
Do not wash yourself with cold water!
Word by Word: Not yourself wash with water cold!
In a negative command, te goes between nu and the verb.
Common Mistakes
Dropping the reflexive pronoun.
Trezesc la ora opt.Mă trezesc la ora opt.For the intended meaning 'I wake up at eight', include mă. Without it, a trezi means to wake someone else, even when that object is left to context.
Using 'se' for all persons.
Eu se spăl.Eu mă spăl.Reflexive pronouns must agree with the subject. 'Se' is only for the 3rd person (he/she/they).
Forgetting the hyphen in past tenses.
Sa dus la magazin.S-a dus la magazin.When a reflexive pronoun ending in a vowel meets an auxiliary starting with a vowel, a hyphen is required (s-a, m-am, te-ai).
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand reflexive pronouns, you first need to be familiar with the subject pronouns they correspond to and how to conjugate regular verbs, as reflexive pronouns always accompany a verb form.
- Present of -a Verbs
Reflexive pronouns are used in conjunction with conjugated verbs; understanding basic verb endings is necessary to form complete reflexive sentences.
Level 1 - Dropping Subject Pronouns
In Romanian, subject pronouns are often dropped, making the reflexive pronoun the primary indicator of the action's direction.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- mă / te / îl / o / ne / vă / îi / leDirect-Object Clitics
Reflexive pronouns share the same forms as direct object clitics for the 1st and 2nd persons.
Level 2 - Impersonal se
The 3rd person reflexive 'se' is also used to create impersonal or passive sentences.
Level 3 - mă numescIntroducing Your Name
One of the most common introductory uses of a reflexive verb for beginners.
Level 1 - a se + InfinitiveReflexive Infinitives
Shows how dictionaries write the infinitive marker a and the reflexive pronoun se before a verb.
Level 2 - The Compound Perfect
The compound perfect combines reflexive pronouns with its auxiliary in hyphenated forms such as m-am, v-ați, and s-au.
Level 2 - Clitics With Commands
Reflexive pronouns follow affirmative commands and precede negative commands: Spală-te! versus Nu te spăla!
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice mă / te / se / ne / vă / se in Bubblegum
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