juntosSpanish Reflexives & Daily Routine: me levanto, me ducho, narrating your day
Three lessons on reflexive verbs, the language of a day hour by hour, and the verbs whose meaning shifts when the pronoun appears.
| Infinitive | Yo form | English |
|---|---|---|
| despertarse | me despierto | I wake up |
| levantarse | me levanto | I get up |
| bañarse / ducharse | me baño / me ducho | I shower |
| vestirse | me visto | I get dressed |
| lavarse los dientes | me lavo los dientes | I brush my teeth |
| irse | me voy | I leave |
| acostarse | me acuesto | I go to bed |
| dormirse | me duermo | I fall asleep |
A large slice of everyday Spanish is reflexive: you do not get up, shower, get dressed or go to bed, you get yourself up (me levanto), shower yourself (me ducho), dress yourself (me visto) and put yourself to bed (me acuesto). The pronoun (me, te, se, nos, se) goes before the conjugated verb, or attaches to the end of an infinitive or gerund (voy a levantarme, estoy duchándome). And a group of very common verbs change meaning when the pronoun appears: ir is to go, irse is to leave; dormir is to sleep, dormirse is to fall asleep; quedar is to arrange to meet, quedarse is to stay.
English has no reflexive for any of this, so the pronoun is the first thing learners drop: "levanto a las siete", which without the me means you lift something at seven. The second problem is placement, especially with the gerund, and the third is the stem changes hiding inside the most common routine verbs (me despierto, me acuesto, me visto). None of this is conceptually hard; it is a matter of enough correct repetitions.
Juntos gives you those repetitions with feedback. After the three lessons below, describing your day is one of the most natural things to do in the AI tutor: the neighbour, the first date and the "talk about your work" scenarios all ask about your routine, and every message is scored 0–100 with the missing me or misplaced se corrected. Dropped reflexives are tracked in your Error Bank and revisited with spaced repetition, and AI Call mode lets you say me levanto, me ducho, me voy out loud until it flows.
What's in this course
- Reflexive verbs, me levanto, te llamas, actions on yourself
- Your day, hour by hour, Routine verbs + the vocabulary that glues them
- quedarse, irse, sentirse, The reflexives that change everything
Each lesson below is the same material used inside the Juntos app, with two of its exercises to try. In the app every lesson has the full exercise set, and the AI tutor grades your conversation practice against what you have learned.
Lesson 1: Reflexive verbs
me levanto, te llamas, actions on yourself
The mirror verbs 🪞
When the action bounces back at you, the verb wears a pronoun: me, te, se, nos, se: placed before the verb:
- despertarse → Me despierto a las seis. (I wake up.)
- levantarse → Me levanto. (I get up.) · ducharse → Me ducho.
- llamarse → ¿Cómo te llamas? literally "what do you call yourself?"
Try it
___ levanto a las siete todos los días.
I get up at seven every day.
Show answer
Me · levantarse, yo → ME levanto.
¿A qué hora ___ (acostarse, tú)?
What time do you go to bed?
- te acuestas
- acuestas
- te acostas
Show answer
te acuestas · acostarse (o→ue) → te acuestas.
Lesson 2: Your day, hour by hour
Routine verbs + the vocabulary that glues them
A day in Spanish 🕗
- desayunar / almorzar / cenar: have breakfast / lunch / dinner (verbs, no "tener"!)
- vestirse (e→i), get dressed · cepillarse los dientes: brush your teeth
- dar un paseo: take a walk · descansar: to rest
- desde… hasta… from… until…: Trabajo desde las nueve hasta las cinco.
Try it
'I have breakfast at 8' =
- Tengo desayuno a las ocho
- Desayuno a las ocho
- Me desayuno a las ocho
Show answer
Desayuno a las ocho · desayunar is a verb: desayuno a las ocho.
Trabajo ___ las nueve hasta las cinco.
I work from nine until five.
Show answer
desde · desde… hasta… = from… until…
Lesson 3: quedarse, irse, sentirse
The reflexives that change everything
Small pronoun, big difference 🎭
- ir (to go) vs. irse (to leave): Me voy. I'm off!
- quedar (to arrange/be located) vs. quedarse (to stay): Me quedo en un hostal.
- sentirse (to feel): Me siento bien / mal / cansado.
- preocuparse: No te preocupes. don't worry (you'll hear this daily).
Try it
Es tarde, ___ . (I'm leaving)
- voy
- me voy
- me ir
Show answer
me voy · Leaving → irse: me voy.
¿Cuánto tiempo te ___ (quedar) en México?
How long are you staying in Mexico?
Show answer
quedas · quedarse → te quedas.
This course is free. Want it graded in conversation?
Reflexives & Daily Routine is free on Juntos, with the games and your Error Bank. Start a 7-day trial to add the AI tutor that grades every sentence you write or say, voice calls and the 12-track program. Then $8/month, no card to start.
Questions people ask
How do you say "I wake up" in Spanish?
Me despierto, from despertarse. "I get up" is me levanto, from levantarse. Both are reflexive: the me shows you are doing it to yourself.
What reflexive verbs describe a daily routine?
Despertarse, levantarse, ducharse, bañarse, vestirse, lavarse los dientes, peinarse and acostarse: me despierto, me levanto, me ducho, me visto, me acuesto.
Where does the reflexive pronoun go in Spanish?
Before a conjugated verb (me levanto a las siete) or joined to the end of an infinitive or gerund (voy a levantarme, estoy duchándome).
What's the difference between 'levanto' and 'me levanto'?
Me levanto means 'I get up'. Without me, levantar needs an object: levanto la mano means 'I raise my hand'. Dropping the pronoun changes the meaning.
Ir vs irse: what's the difference?
Ir is to go somewhere: voy al trabajo. Irse is to leave or go away: me voy, ya es tarde. Ya me voy is the everyday way to say 'I'm off'.
Dormir vs dormirse: what's the difference?
Dormir is to sleep: duermo ocho horas. Dormirse is to fall asleep: me dormí viendo la tele. Me quedé dormido means the same, and can also mean 'I overslept'.
How do you say 'I brush my teeth' in Spanish?
Me lavo los dientes. With body parts Spanish uses the article (los) rather than 'my', because me already shows whose teeth they are. Likewise: me lavo las manos, me lavo la cara.
Is 'bañarse' a bath or a shower?
In Mexico and much of Latin America, bañarse is the everyday word for showering: me baño en la mañana. Ducharse is understood everywhere and is the usual word in Spain.
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