Reflexive and reciprocal verbs: who acts on whom?

The idea

In a reflexive use, the subject both performs and receives the action: yıkanmak means to wash oneself and giyinmek to get dressed. If you name the thing washed or put on, use yıkamak or giymek: ellerini yıkadı, ceketini giydi. Reciprocal verbs can describe mutual action, as in selamlaşmak (greet each other) and görüşmek (meet, talk with someone), or action together, as in gülüşmek (laugh together). Two participants do not require a plural subject: Ece ile görüştüm has an I-subject and a partner introduced by ile.

Examples

• Ali sabah yıkandı.Ali washed himself in the morning.
• Elif hızla giyindi.Elif got dressed quickly.
• Komşular kapıda selamlaştı.The neighbours greeted each other at the door.
• Ece ile dün görüştüm.I met with Ece yesterday.
• Çocuklar bahçede gülüştü.The children laughed together in the garden.
• Elif mavi ceketini giydi.Elif put on her blue jacket.
• Tabaklar mutfakta yıkandı.The plates were washed in the kitchen.
• Ali ellerini yıkadı.Ali washed his hands.

Watch out

Do not identify a reflexive action from the ending alone. In Tabaklar yıkandı, the plates were washed; they did not wash themselves. Learn established verbs in context rather than adding a reflexive or reciprocal ending to every verb.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the verb: the child washed their own body in the bathroom.

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   yıkandı

   yıkandı: the child washes their own body, so no separate thing is being washed. Yıkadı would describe washing something or someone else.

2. Choose the verb: Elif put on her jacket.

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   giydi

   giydi: ceketini names the garment being put on. Giyindi describes getting dressed without taking that garment as a direct object.

3. Choose the verb: I met with Ece yesterday.

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   görüştüm

   görüştüm: the sentence describes a meeting with Ece. Ece ile names the other participant; seeing Ece would instead use Ece’yi gördüm.

4. Classify the verb: reflexive (dönüşlü) or reciprocal/collective (işteş)?

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   işteş

   işteş: gülüştü describes the children laughing together. Here the shared action, not an action directed back at each child, determines the category.

Use it today

Write one sentence about getting dressed, one about putting on a named garment, and one about meeting a friend. Identify who acts and whether there is an object or a partner.