Reflexive verbs are an essential part of daily communication in Latvian.

These verbs indicate that the subject of the sentence is performing an action on themselves.

You’ll also use them to describe actions people do with each other or actions that happen spontaneously.

Understanding how to form and use them correctly will make your spoken Latvian sound much more natural.

I’ll explain exactly how to recognize, conjugate, and apply Latvian reflexive verbs in everyday situations.

What is a reflexive verb in Latvian?

In English, we usually add pronouns like “myself” or “each other” after a regular verb to make it reflexive.

Latvian does this entirely differently.

Instead of adding a separate word, the Latvian language alters the ending of the verb itself.

This special ending instantly tells the listener that the action reflects back onto the speaker.

How to form Latvian reflexive verbs

Recognizing a reflexive verb in its dictionary form is very simple.

Regular Latvian verbs in the infinitive tense usually end in the letter -t.

To make a verb reflexive, this ending is replaced with the suffix -ties.

For example, the standard verb mazgāt means “to wash” an object.

When you change it to mazgāties, it becomes the reflexive verb meaning “to wash oneself”.

Another very common example is the verb mācīt, which translates to “to teach”.

By adding the reflexive ending to create mācīties, the meaning changes to “to learn” or “to teach oneself”.

Conjugating reflexive verbs in the present tense

Conjugating these verbs involves adding specific reflexive endings based on the pronoun you’re using.

The endings will change depending on who’s performing the action.

Let’s look at the present tense conjugation for the regular reflexive verb mazgāties.

Notice that the third-person forms for viņš, viņa, viņi, and viņas are completely identical.

This is a consistent and helpful rule across all Latvian verbs.

When to use reflexive verbs

Latvian reflexive verbs are used in three main situations.

I’ll break down each context so you know exactly when to apply them in conversation.

Actions done to yourself

This is the most literal and common use of a reflexive verb.

You use this form when the subject and the object of the sentence are the exact same person.

Actions done with each other

Reflexive verbs are also used for reciprocal actions.

This means two or more people are doing an action together or directly to each other.

Spontaneous actions and state changes

Sometimes an action just happens naturally without a direct external cause.

Latvian uses reflexive verbs to describe states of being, emotions, and spontaneous events.

For example, feeling an emotion or a door opening on its own will require a reflexive ending.

Reflexive vs non-reflexive verbs

The easiest way to master these verbs is to compare them side by side with their regular counterparts.

A regular verb requires a direct object, meaning you’re doing the action to something else.

A reflexive verb requires no direct object because the action stays with you.

Here’s a clear comparison using the verb gatavot (to prepare).

The first sentence uses a standard verb because the action is directed at the dinner.

The second sentence uses the reflexive form because the speaker is preparing themselves.

Paying attention to whether an external object is receiving the action will always tell you which verb form to choose.