Swedish reflexive verbs and sin, sitt, sina explained

The short answer

A Swedish reflexive verb is a verb used with a pronoun that points back to the subject: Jag känner mig trött (I feel tired, literally "I feel myself tired"). The reflexive pronouns are mig, dig, sig, oss, er, sig; only the third person has a special form, sig. Many everyday verbs are reflexive in Swedish but not in English: gifta sig (get married), sätta sig (sit down), lägga sig (lie down, go to bed), skynda sig (hurry), ångra sig (change one's mind) and lära sig (learn).

The related reflexive possessive sin, sitt, sina means "his own, her own, their own" and is used when the owner is the subject of the same clause: Erik ringde sin mamma (Erik called his own mother). Erik ringde hans mamma means he called some other man's mother.

The reflexive pronouns

Remember that mig, dig, sig are pronounced mej, dej, sej. More on this in spoken vs written Swedish.

Why sig matters

In the first and second person, the reflexive pronoun is the same as the ordinary object pronoun (mig, dig, oss, er). Only the third person has a separate form, and that difference changes the meaning:

• Han tvättar sig. (He washes himself.)
• Han tvättar honom. (He washes him, another man.)
• De presenterade sig. (They introduced themselves.)
• De presenterade dem. (They introduced them, other people.)

Common reflexive verbs

These are the reflexive verbs you will use most. Note how many are not reflexive in English.

A few pairs are worth learning together, because the reflexive form means "move into a position" and the plain verb means "be in a position":

• Hon satte sig i soffan. (She sat down on the sofa.) Hon sitter i soffan. (She is sitting on the sofa.)
• Jag lade mig klockan elva. (I went to bed at eleven.) Jag låg i sängen hela dagen. (I lay in bed all day.)

Reflexive in Swedish, not in English

The biggest source of errors is forgetting the pronoun because English does not need one.

Lära sig vs lära

Lära sig means "learn", and lära someone something means "teach":

• Jag lär mig svenska. (I'm learning Swedish.)
• Hon lär mig svenska. (She is teaching me Swedish.)
• Vem lärde dig att köra bil? (Who taught you to drive?)

So Hon lär mig is about teaching, not about learning.

Känna sig vs känna

Känna sig describes how you feel; känna alone means "feel something" or "know a person":

• Jag känner mig glad. (I feel happy.)
• Jag känner kylan. (I feel the cold.)
• Jag känner henne. (I know her.)

The reflexive in imperatives

In commands, the reflexive pronoun follows the person you are speaking to: dig for one person, er for several.

• Sätt dig! (Sit down! to one person) Sätt er! (to several)
• Skynda dig! / Skynda er! (Hurry up!)
• Ta hand om dig! (Take care of yourself!)
• Lugna ner dig! (Calm down!)

Reflexive verbs and particles

Some reflexive verbs also have a particle. The order depends on the verb, so learn each as a chunk:

• Lägg dig ner. (Lie down.) Sätt dig ner. (Sit down.) Here the pronoun comes before the particle.
• Ta på dig jackan. (Put your jacket on.) Klä av dig. (Get undressed.) Here the particle comes first.

See Swedish particle verbs for more on particles.

Reflexive pronouns with -s verbs

Some verbs that are reflexive in other languages use an -s form in Swedish instead: skämmas (be ashamed), minnas (remember), trivas (be happy somewhere), hoppas (hope). And reciprocal "each other" meanings often use -s: Vi ses! (See you!), De träffades 2015 (They met in 2015), Vi kramades (We hugged). These do not take a pronoun.

Sin, sitt, sina: the reflexive possessive

English "his" can mean his own or someone else's. Swedish makes the difference clear.

Sin, sitt, sina agree with the thing owned, like min, mitt, mina:

• sin with en words: Hon tog sin väska. (She took her bag.)
• sitt with ett words: Han sålde sitt hus. (He sold his house.)
• sina with plurals: De ringde sina föräldrar. (They called their parents.)

The rule

Use sin, sitt, sina when the owner is the subject of the same clause, and the subject is third person (han, hon, hen, den, det, de, man, or a noun).

Swedes notice this immediately, so getting it wrong can produce some awkward meanings.

Never in the subject

Sin cannot be part of the subject itself, because the subject cannot refer back to itself:

• Right: Per och hans fru kom sent. (Per and his wife came late.)
• Wrong: Per och sin fru kom sent.
• Right: Hans bror bor i Umeå. (His brother lives in Umeå.)
• Wrong: Sin bror bor i Umeå.

Each clause on its own

Sin refers to the subject of its own clause, not the main clause:

• Anna säger att hennes bror är sjuk. (Anna says that her brother is ill.) The subject of the second clause is hennes bror, so sin is impossible here.
• Anna säger att Per har glömt sin nyckel. (Anna says that Per has forgotten his key.) Sin refers to Per, the subject of its clause.
• Anna säger att Per har glömt hennes nyckel. (… Per has forgotten her key, Anna's or another woman's.)

With an infinitive

When an infinitive follows, sin usually refers to the person who will do the action:

• Jag bad honom ta med sin dator. (I asked him to bring his laptop.)
• Hon lät barnen leka med sina kompisar. (She let the children play with their friends.)

Not in the first and second person

With jag, du, vi, ni, Swedish uses the ordinary possessives, because there is no ambiguity: Jag tog min väska, Du glömde din jacka, Vi sålde vårt hus. Saying Jag tog sin väska is a common learner error.

Common mistakes

FAQ

What is a reflexive verb in Swedish?

A verb used with a pronoun that refers back to the subject, such as känna sig (feel), sätta sig (sit down) or gifta sig (get married): Jag känner mig trött.

What is the difference between sig and honom?

Sig refers back to the subject: Han rakar sig (He shaves himself). Honom refers to someone else: Han rakar honom (He shaves him, another man).

When do I use sin, sitt, sina?

When the owner is the third-person subject of the same clause: Hon ringde sin pappa (She called her own father). Use sin with en words, sitt with ett words and sina with plurals.

What's the difference between "sin" and "hans"?

Sin means "his own" and refers to the subject: Erik tog sin cykel (Erik took his own bike). Hans refers to someone else: Erik tog hans cykel (Erik took another man's bike).

How do you say "I feel" in Swedish?

For a state, Jag känner mig + adjective: Jag känner mig trött (I feel tired). For an opinion, Jag tycker or Jag känner att.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-07.

• Teleman, Ulf, Staffan Hellberg & Erik Andersson (1999). Svenska Akademiens grammatik, vol. 2 (pronouns, reflexives and sin). Svenska Akademien.
• Hultman, Tor G. (2003). Svenska Akademiens språklära. Svenska Akademien.
• Språkrådet's language advice on sin and hans/hennes, at isof.se.

Keep going

Reflexive verbs become automatic once you have said Jag känner mig and Sätt dig a few hundred times. Our free Season 1 course builds that habit with real spoken Swedish and speaking practice. Start the free course. For other verb forms, see the Swedish verbs guide and the verb conjugator.