Mastering French: 20 Essential Pronominal Verbs You Need to Know

Learning French isn’t just about memorizing vocabulary and conjugation tables — it’s also about understanding how verbs work in real, everyday speech.

One important group of verbs in French are pronominal verbs (les verbes pronominaux).

They always come with a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nous, vous, se) and often express actions we do to ourselves or to each other.

Mastering them will instantly make your French sound more natural and fluent. Let’s dive in!

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🌟 What Are Pronominal Verbs?

Pronominal verbs are verbs that include a reflexive pronoun. For example:

• Je me lève → I get up (literally “I raise myself”).

• Ils se parlent → They talk to each other.

They can indicate reflexive actions (done to oneself), reciprocal actions (done to each other), or sometimes just be idiomatic expressions.

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📝 The Structure

Pronominal verbs follow this pattern:
Subject + reflexive pronoun + verb

Reflexive pronouns:

• Je me

• Tu te

• Il/Elle/On se

• Nous nous

• Vous vous

• Ils/Elles se

Example with se laver (to wash oneself):

• Je me lave

• Tu te laves

• Il se lave

• Nous nous lavons

• Vous vous lavez

• Ils se lavent

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🔑 20 Essential Pronominal Verbs

Here are 20 common and useful pronominal verbs every French learner should know, with examples:

1. Se lever – to get up
   👉 Je me lève à 7h tous les jours. (I get up at 7 a.m. every day.)

2. Se coucher – to go to bed
   👉 Nous nous couchons tard le week-end. (We go to bed late on weekends.)

3. S’habiller – to get dressed
   👉 Elle s’habille rapidement. (She gets dressed quickly.)

4. Se déshabiller – to undress
   👉 Les enfants se déshabillent avant de prendre une douche. (The children undress before showering.)

5. Se laver – to wash oneself
   👉 Je me lave les mains avant de manger. (I wash my hands before eating.)

6. Se maquiller – to put on makeup
   👉 Elle se maquille pour sortir. (She puts on makeup to go out.)

7. Se raser – to shave
   👉 Il se rase tous les matins. (He shaves every morning.)

8. Se brosser les dents – to brush one’s teeth
   👉 Je me brosse les dents trois fois par jour. (I brush my teeth three times a day.)

9. Se peigner / se coiffer – to comb/brush one’s hair
   👉 Elle se coiffe devant le miroir. (She does her hair in front of the mirror.)

10. Se réveiller – to wake up
    👉 Ils se réveillent tôt pour aller à l’école. (They wake up early to go to school.)

11. Se souvenir (de) – to remember
    👉 Tu te souviens de cette chanson ? (Do you remember this song?)

12. Se dépêcher – to hurry
    👉 Dépêchons-nous, le train part bientôt ! (Let’s hurry, the train is leaving soon!)

13. Se promener – to go for a walk
    👉 Nous nous promenons au parc le dimanche. (We take a walk in the park on Sundays.)

14. Se reposer – to rest
    👉 Après le travail, je me repose un peu. (After work, I rest a little.)

15. S’amuser – to have fun
    👉 Les enfants s’amusent beaucoup à la fête. (The kids are having fun at the party.)

16. Se fâcher (contre) – to get angry (with)
    👉 Elle se fâche contre son frère. (She gets angry with her brother.)

17. Se marier (avec) – to get married (to)
    👉 Ils se sont mariés en juin. (They got married in June.)

18. Se sentir – to feel
    👉 Je me sens fatigué aujourd’hui. (I feel tired today.)

19. Se tromper – to make a mistake / be wrong
    👉 Excusez-moi, je me suis trompé. (Sorry, I was mistaken.)

20. S’entendre (avec) – to get along (with)
    👉 Elle s’entend bien avec ses collègues. (She gets along well with her coworkers.)

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⚡ Pro Tips to Master Pronominal Verbs

• Don’t forget the reflexive pronoun — it changes with the subject!

• Some verbs can change meaning when used pronominally:

  • appeler (to call) vs. s’appeler (to be called, “My name is…”).

• In compound tenses (like passé composé), pronominal verbs are always conjugated with être.
  👉 Je me suis levé(e). (I got up.)

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🎯 Practice Exercise

Try writing 5 sentences using different pronominal verbs from the list above. For example:

• Ce matin, je me suis réveillé(e) à 6h.

• Nous nous sommes promenés au bord du lac.

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✅ By mastering these 20 verbs, you’ll be ready to handle many daily conversations in French more naturally and confidently!