Reflexive verbs: me llamo, me levanto

The very first Spanish sentence most people learn is reflexive: Me llamo Ana, literally "I call myself Ana". A reflexive verb carries a pronoun that refers back to the subject. You recognise one in the dictionary by the -se on the infinitive: llamarse, levantarse, ducharse.

Where the pronoun goes

• Before a conjugated verb, as a separate word: Me levanto a las siete.
• Joined to the end of an infinitive: Voy a levantarme tarde. You may also put it before the whole group: Me voy a levantar tarde. Both are equally common.

The pronoun must match the subject: Nos acostamos tarde, pero tú te acuestas pronto.

English says "get" or nothing at all

English uses reflexives ("myself") rarely, so the Spanish pronoun feels redundant. Daily routine is where you need it most, and English usually has "get" or no extra word:

• levantarse - get up: Me levanto, me ducho y me visto.
• acostarse - go to bed: En verano nos acostamos muy tarde.
• vestirse - get dressed; ducharse - have a shower
• sentarse - sit down; sentirse - feel: Me siento bien.

Two of these also change their stem vowel in the same boot pattern as tener: acostarse → me acuesto, vestirse → me visto. And look at me siento: it is both "I sit down" (sentarse) and "I feel" (sentirse). Context sorts it out.

No "my" with your own body

Because the pronoun already says whose hands they are, Spanish uses "the", not "my": Me lavo las manos. - I wash my hands. Te lavas los dientes. Me lavo mis manos is grammatical, but it sounds like you might otherwise be washing someone else's.

With and without se

Some verbs mean something different with the pronoun. Llamar is "to call" (Llamo a mi madre), llamarse "to be called". Ir is "to go", irse "to leave": Me voy - I'm off. Dormir is "to sleep", dormirse "to fall asleep". Leaving the pronoun out is the usual English-speaker error, and with these verbs it changes the meaning: *Llamo Ana is not Spanish at all, and Llamo a Ana means "I'm calling Ana", not "My name is Ana".