A Romanian reflexive pronoun points back to the subject: Ana se vede în oglindă. (Ana sees herself in the mirror.) The short reflexive form, called a clitic, changes with case. Accusative se functions as a direct object. Dative își marks an indirect, beneficiary, or possessive role.
How do you choose accusative or dative?
Use the accusative reflexive clitic when the direct object points back to the subject. Use the dative reflexive clitic when the subject is an indirect participant, beneficiary, or possessor. Romanian case questions help: pe cine? (whom?) for a direct object and cui? (to whom?) for a dative.
| Role | Third-person clitic | Example | What the clitic contributes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct object, accusative | se | Ana se vede. (Ana sees herself.) | Ana is the person directly seen. |
| Indirect object or beneficiary, dative | își | Ana își cumpără o carte. (Ana buys herself a book.) | Ana is the person for whom the book is bought. |
| Possessor, dative | își | Ana își spală mâinile. (Ana washes her hands.) | Ana is the possessor of mâinile (hands). |
- Compare Ana se spală. (Ana washes herself.) with Ana își spală mâinile. (Ana washes her hands.) In the second sentence, mâinile is the direct object and își identifies its possessor.
- The first- and second-person reflexive clitics are the same as the corresponding short personal-pronoun forms: mă, te, ne, and vă. The third-person forms differ by case: reflexive accusative se and reflexive dative își.
- Do not choose the Romanian form from an English translation alone. The Romanian form follows its role in the sentence and the verb's meaning.
What are the person and number forms?
The reflexive clitic has an accusative set and a dative set. In the third person, neither set distinguishes masculine from feminine, and the same form covers singular and plural.
| Person and number | Accusative clitic | Full accusative | Dative clitic | Full dative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First person singular | mă | pe mine | îmi | mie |
| Second person singular | te | pe tine | îți | ție |
| Third person singular | se | pe sine | își | sieși |
| First person plural | ne | pe noi | ne | nouă |
| Second person plural | vă | pe voi | vă | vouă |
| Third person plural | se | pe sine | își | sieși |
For the first and second persons, the full forms are the ordinary personal pronouns used reflexively: Mă văd pe mine. (I see myself.) The third person uses pe sine in the accusative and sieși in the dative. Compare El se vede pe sine. (He sees himself.) with El își promite sieși o pauză. (He promises himself a break.)
Full forms can add focus or clarification and can occur after a preposition: Se gândește la sine. (He or she is thinking about himself, herself, or itself.) The third-person forms pe sine and sieși do not change for gender or number. DOOM3 also records sie as a variant of sieși.
Where does the reflexive clitic go?
The verb form controls the clitic's position. A finite verb carries tense and agrees with the subject. In the main contemporary patterns, the clitic appears before a finite verb or auxiliary, after să, or after an affirmative imperative.
| Verb form | Position | Accusative example | Dative example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present or another simple finite form | Before the finite verb | Se vede în oglindă. (He or she sees himself or herself in the mirror.) | Își spală mâinile. (He or she washes his or her hands.) |
| Compound perfect | Before the auxiliary | S-a văzut în oglindă. (He or she saw himself or herself in the mirror.) | Și-a spălat mâinile. (He or she washed his or her hands.) |
| Future with va | Before the future auxiliary | Se va vedea în oglindă. (He or she will see himself or herself in the mirror.) | Își va spăla mâinile. (He or she will wash his or her hands.) |
| Present subjunctive | After să | Vrea să se vadă în oglindă. (He or she wants to see himself or herself in the mirror.) | Vrea să-și spele mâinile. (He or she wants to wash his or her hands.) |
| Affirmative imperative | After the verb, with a hyphen | Privește-te în oglindă! (Look at yourself in the mirror!) | Spală-ți mâinile! (Wash your hands!) |
- Before a vowel-initial auxiliary, se and își use the attached shapes s- and și-: s-a and și-a. These are clitic-plus-auxiliary forms, not new persons.
- Both the expanded subjunctive spelling să își spele and the compact spelling să-și spele are accepted. The spelling difference does not change the meaning.
- Other non-finite forms can attach the clitic after the form, as in DOOM3's cumpărându-și (buying for himself, herself, or themselves).
How do true reflexive, reciprocal, and lexical uses differ?
The clitic alone does not always identify the meaning. Read the subject, the rest of the clause, and the verb pattern together.
| Use | How the clitic works | Example |
|---|---|---|
| True reflexive | The subject acts on itself, and the direct object points back to the subject. | Mara se vede în oglindă. (Mara sees herself in the mirror.) |
| Reciprocal | A plural or coordinated subject acts mutually. An added reciprocal phrase can make the reading explicit. | Mara și Ioana se ajută una pe alta. (Mara and Ioana help each other.) |
| Lexical reflexive | The clitic belongs to the verb pattern rather than functioning as an ordinary object meaning himself or herself. See Romanian reflexive verbs for the wider patterns. | Mă gândesc la examen. (I am thinking about the exam.) |
| Dative reciprocal | With a plural subject, a dative clitic can express a mutual action. Context or an added phrase can make the reading explicit. | Își scriu mesaje. (They write messages to each other.) |
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not use își for a direct reflexive object: Ana se vede, not Ana își vede, when Ana sees herself. Use își vede mâinile only when mâinile is the direct object and Ana is its possessor.
- Do not use se for a reflexive recipient or possessor: Ana își cumpără o carte and Ana își spală mâinile use the dative clitic.
- Do not make se agree with the subject's gender or number. Write El se vede, Ea se vede, Ei se văd, and Ele se văd; the clitic remains se.
- Do not put a clitic after an ordinary present-tense verb: write Se vede, not Vede-se. Post-verbal attachment belongs to forms such as the affirmative imperative: Privește-te!
- Do not treat sine and sieși as ordinary subject pronouns. They are full reflexive forms used for an object or a prepositional phrase, while the subject remains expressed or understood elsewhere.
Which third-person clitic completes the direct-object reflexive sentence Ana ___ vede în oglindă?
- își
- se
- îi
- sieși
The person seen is Ana, so the accusative reflexive clitic is se: Ana se vede în oglindă.
Choose the sentence meaning “Radu washes his hands.”
- Radu se spală mâinile.
- Radu spală-și mâinile.
- Radu îi spală mâinile.
- Radu își spală mâinile.
Mâinile is the direct object, and Radu is its possessor. The possessive role takes the reflexive dative clitic își: Radu își spală mâinile.
Which full reflexive accusative form completes El se vede ___ în oglindă?
- pe sine
- sieși
- pe el
- sinei
The full third-person reflexive accusative is pe sine. The clitic se stays with the verb, while pe sine can add explicit focus or clarification.
Which sentence uses the standard reflexive-clitic position in the compound perfect?
- A văzut-se în oglindă.
- Se a văzut în oglindă.
- S-a văzut în oglindă.
- Văzut s-a în oglindă.
In the compound perfect, se comes before the auxiliary a and attaches as s-a: S-a văzut în oglindă.
In Mara și Ioana se ajută una pe alta, what does se express?
- A feminine singular subject
- A dative possessor
- A lexical meaning of thinking
- A reciprocal meaning
The coordinated plural subject and una pe alta make the mutual reading clear: Mara and Ioana help each other.