Daily Routines with Reflexive Verbs

Hello! Welcome to the start of your A2 German course. I'm excited to guide you through this next stage of your language learning journey.

This first module focuses on talking about daily life and past events. In this lesson, we'll kick things off by learning how to describe your daily routine. To do this, we'll dive into a fundamental concept in German grammar: reflexive verbs. By the end of our session, you'll be able to talk about your morning routine using verbs like sich waschen (to wash oneself) and sich anziehen (to get dressed). This is a crucial skill for everyday conversation and a popular topic for vlogs, which I know you're interested in.

Let's begin!

What Are Reflexive Verbs?

In German, when the subject of a sentence performs an action on itself, we use a reflexive verb. Think of the action "reflecting" back onto the person doing it. The English equivalent often uses "-self" or "-selves" (e.g., "I wash myself," "He prepares himself"), but in German, this structure is far more common and essential for everyday actions.

A great example, which is surely part of your daily routine as a dental student, is brushing your teeth. In German, you do this action to yourself.

Let's look at some common daily activities. The image below shows a typical German morning routine, or Tagesablauf. Notice how many verbs are shown with (sich) in front of them. This sich is the infinitive form of the reflexive pronoun.

This vocabulary sheet illustrates several morning routine actions. Pay attention to the verbs marked with `(sich)`, such as `(sich) duschen`, `(sich) kämmen`, and `(sich) die Zähne putzen`.

To understand how to use these verbs, we first need to get acquainted with the reflexive pronouns themselves.

The Building Blocks: Reflexive Pronouns

Just as you learned personal pronouns (ich, du, er/sie/es) in your A1 course, reflexive verbs require their own set of pronouns. These pronouns change depending on the subject of the sentence. They also have two different forms: accusative and dative. We'll explore the difference shortly.

For now, let's learn the pronouns. Please study the following resource to familiarize yourself with the grammar.

Reflexive Verbs & Daily Routines – Ultimate Practice Workbook ...

This resource provides a clear and essential breakdown of reflexive pronouns. It's the foundation for everything we'll do in this lesson.

Please read the section titled "2. Grammar Basics: Reflexive Pronouns & Cases". Focus on the pronoun table and memorize the forms for both accusative and dative cases.

As you can see from the table, the reflexive pronoun must match the person and number of the subject.

For ich, you use mich (accusative) or mir (dative).
For du, you use dich (accusative) or dir (dative).
For er/sie/es, wir, ihr, sie/Sie, most of the pronouns will look familiar from the standard object pronouns you already know. The key one to remember is sich, which is used for er/sie/es, the plural sie, and the formal Sie.

Accusative or Dative? The Golden Rule

Now for the most important question: when do you use the accusative (mich, dich) and when the dative (mir, dir)? The choice depends on the other elements in the sentence.

Here's the rule that will guide you:

If the reflexive pronoun is the only object in the sentence, use the accusative.
If there is another direct object (which will be in the accusative case), the reflexive pronoun must be in the dative. This often happens when you perform an action on a specific part of your body or are doing something for yourself.

Let's see this in action:

Accusative: Ich wasche mich. (I wash myself.)
- Here, "myself" (mich) is the only object. The action of washing is directed at the subject, ich.
Dative: Ich wasche mir die Hände. (I wash my hands.)
- Here, we have two objects: mir (myself) and die Hände (the hands). Since die Hände is the direct object (in the accusative case), the reflexive pronoun mir shifts to the dative case.

This distinction is crucial. You're not just washing yourself in general; you are washing the hands for yourself.

To solidify this concept, let's watch a short video that clearly explains and demonstrates this difference.

German Lesson (116) - Reflexive Verbs - Dative - A2

The instructor in this video from lingoni GERMAN provides excellent visual examples for distinguishing between accusative and dative reflexive verbs.

Watch the section from the beginning of the explanation. Pay close attention to how she models the sentences Ich kämme mich versus Ich kämme mir die Haare, and Ich wasche mich versus Ich wasche mir die Hände.

Describing a Morning Routine in German

Now that we have the grammar down, let's put it all together to describe a full morning routine. The following video narrates a character's entire day, starting with his morning. It's a fantastic way to see these verbs used in a natural sequence.

Deutsch lernen / Learn German A2 - Daily routine - Grammatik: Reflexive Verben + Akkusativ + Dativ

This video by Benjamin - Der Deutschlehrer tells a story of a daily routine, providing great context for the vocabulary.

Please watch the first part of Peter's day, from his morning routine. Listen for the reflexive verbs used to describe his actions in the bathroom and kitchen, such as: zuerst putzt er sich die Zähne dann wäscht er sich danach zieht er sich an er macht sich Frühstück

Did you notice the flow? Peter's routine is a sequence of reflexive actions. Let's practice by creating our own sentences. Remember the word order for simple sentences: the reflexive pronoun comes right after the conjugated verb. If the verb is separable, like anziehen, the pronoun still follows the verb stem, and the prefix goes to the end.

Ich ziehe mich an. (I get dressed.)
Morgens ziehe ich mich an. (In the morning, I get dressed.)

Let's Practice

Here is a list of common reflexive verbs for daily routines. Try to construct sentences about your own routine.

Verb Infinitive	Meaning	Example (Accusative)	Example (Dative)
sich anziehen	to get dressed	Ich ziehe mich an.	Ich ziehe mir einen Mantel an.
sich ausziehen	to get undressed	Du ziehst dich aus.	Du ziehst dir die Schuhe aus.
sich waschen	to wash	Er wäscht sich.	Er wäscht sich die Hände.
sich duschen	to shower	Wir duschen uns.
sich kämmen	to comb one's hair	Ihr kämmt euch.	Ihr kämmt euch die Haare.
sich rasieren	to shave	Sie rasieren sich.	Sie rasieren sich die Beine.
sich die Zähne putzen	to brush one's teeth		Ich putze mir die Zähne.
sich beeilen	to hurry	Ich muss mich beeilen.
sich entspannen	to relax	Abends entspanne ich mich.

Exercise: Imagine you are creating a script for a "My Morning Routine as a Dental Student" vlog. Write 5-7 sentences in German describing your morning. Try to use at least two verbs that require a dative reflexive pronoun.

Example:
Um 6:30 Uhr stehe ich auf. Zuerst dusche ich mich. Danach putze ich mir die Zähne sehr gründlich...

Key Takeaways

Well done! You've just taken your first step into A2 German grammar. Mastering reflexive verbs is essential for sounding natural, and you've learned the most important rules today.

Reflexive verbs describe actions the subject performs on itself.
They require a reflexive pronoun (mich/mir, dich/dir, sich, etc.) that matches the subject.
The pronoun is in the accusative case if it's the only object.
The pronoun is in the dative case if there is another direct object (e.g., a body part).
In a standard sentence, the reflexive pronoun follows the conjugated verb.

In our next lesson, we will continue talking about daily life, but we'll shift our focus to the past. You'll learn how to use the Perfekt tense to narrate what you did yesterday, building on the vocabulary we've learned today. For instance, you'll be able to change "Ich wasche mich" to "Ich habe mich gewaschen" (I washed myself).