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Reflexive verbs for daily routines

When you talk about your daily routine in English, you use simple verbs. You wake up, take a shower, and get dressed. In Italian, many of these personal actions are reflexive. This means the action reflects back onto the subject performing it.

Instead of just "waking up", in Italian you literally "wake yourself up". Instead of "getting dressed", you "dress yourself". Using these reflexive verbs is key to sounding natural when describing your day from start to finish.

Word list
alzarsiA2 to get up mi alzo = I get up cambiarsiA2 to change mi cambio = I get changed farsi il bagnoA2 to bathe mi faccio il bagno = I have a bath farsi la barbaA2 to shave mi faccio la barba = I shave farsi la docciaA2 to shower mi faccio una doccia = I take a shower farsi un bagnoA2 to bathe mi faccio un bagno = I take a bath lavarsi i dentiA2 to brush one's teeth mi lavo i denti = I brush my teeth lavarsi le maniA2 to wash one's hands mi lavo le mani = I wash my hands radersiA2 to shave mi rado = I shave riposarsiA2 to rest mi riposo = I rest svegliarsiA2 to wake up mi sveglio = I wake up vestirsiA2 to get dressed mi vesto = I get dressed addormentarsiB1 to fall asleep mi addormento = I fall asleep pettinarsiB1 to comb one's hair mi pettino = I comb my hair prepararsiB1 to get ready mi preparo per uscire = I get ready to go out rasarsiB1 to shave mi raso = I shave spazzolarsi i dentiB1 to brush one's teeth mi spazzolo i denti = I brush my teeth spogliarsiB1 to undress mi spoglio = I undress stiracchiarsiB2 to stretch mi stiracchio = I stretch svestirsiB2 to undress mi svesto = I get undressed truccarsiB2 to make oneself up mi trucco = I put on makeup
How it works

Reflexive verbs end in -si in their dictionary form, like svegliarsi and alzarsi. When you conjugate them, you must include a reflexive pronoun before the verb. These pronouns are mi, ti, si, ci, vi, and si.

Mi sveglio alle sette ogni mattina.
(I wake up at seven every morning.)
A che ora ti alzi?
(What time do you get up?)

At the end of the day, you use the same structure to talk about going to sleep. The verb addormentarsi works exactly the same way.

I bambini si addormentano subito.
(The children fall asleep right away.)
Washing and dressing

Many actions involving washing and clothing use reflexive forms. For instance, you can use farsi una doccia for your morning shower or lavarsi i denti for brushing your teeth.

Dopo lo sport, Marco si fa una doccia.
(After sports, Marco takes a shower.)
Noi ci laviamo i denti dopo cena.
(We brush our teeth after dinner.)

When it is time to put on clothes, you will use vestirsi. If you need to put on a different outfit, use cambiarsi. At night, you take your clothes off using spogliarsi.

Devi vestirti in fretta!
(You need to get dressed quickly!)
Vado a cambiarmi prima della festa.
(I am going to get changed before the party.)
Grooming and unwinding

Personal grooming is another area full of reflexive verbs. You will use them for styling your hair with pettinarsi, applying cosmetics with truccarsi, and removing facial hair with radersi. You might also hear people say farsi la barba for shaving.

Le ragazze si truccano in bagno.
(The girls put on makeup in the bathroom.)
Mio nonno si rade ogni mattina.
(My grandfather shaves every morning.)

Finally, when you have finished all your tasks, you might want to take a break. You can describe this using the verb riposarsi.

Oggi pomeriggio mi riposo sul divano.
(This afternoon I rest on the couch.)
Summary

When talking about personal routines like waking up, getting dressed, or washing, Italian typically uses reflexive verbs. Remember to match the reflexive pronoun to the person doing the action, so that they successfully "wake themselves" or "dress themselves".