Reflexive Verben mit „sech“

A reflexive verb has an object pronoun that points back at the subject: "I wash myself". English drops that pronoun whenever it can ("I wash", "I sit down", "I remember"); Luxembourgish keeps it.

Person	Pronoun	Example
ech	mech	Ech wäsche mech. - I wash (myself).
du	dech	Du wäschs dech.
hien / si / hatt	sech	Hie wäscht sech.
mir	eis	Mir wäschen eis.
dir / Dir	iech / Iech	Dir wäscht iech.
si	sech	Si wäsche sech.

The dictionary form is the infinitive with sech: sech wäschen. Notice the n-rule on the verb: Ech wäsche mech (before m), but Mir wäschen eis (before a vowel).

Verbs that are reflexive in Luxembourgish but not in English

• sech setzen - to sit down: Setz dech! - Sit down!
• sech freeën - to be glad, to look forward: Ech freeë mech op d'Schueberfouer. - I'm looking forward to the fair.
• sech erënneren - to remember: Erënners du dech un hien? - Do you remember him?
• sech entschëllegen - to apologise: Ech entschëllege mech. - I apologise.

Where the pronoun goes

The reflexive pronoun follows the conjugated verb, and in an inverted sentence it follows the subject: Muer freeë mir eis op de Concert. With a modal it stays near the front, and the infinitive goes to the end: Ech muss mech nach wäschen. - I still have to wash.

The usual English-speaker error is leaving the pronoun out (*Ech setzen), which in Luxembourgish means "I put/place" and is unfinished without an object.