The Uses of “Se” in Spanish, Explained Simply

One of the most common nightmares for Spanish students is “se”. This tiny word makes everyone tremble: it is small but vital, and using it (or not) can completely change the meaning of a sentence. Students either forget it or put it in every sentence. The topic is complex, but here is a simple summary of its main uses, and five verbs that change meaning when you add it.

1. Reflexive and reciprocal “se”

The most common use, and the first one students learn: reflexive verbs, in the infinitive and in the third person singular and plural (lavarse, se lava). Be careful not to confuse it with the reciprocal “se”, when two people do something to each other.

• Juan y Miguel se escriben mensajes todas las noches. (Juan and Miguel text each other every night.)

2. “Se” instead of “le” and “les”

“Se” replaces “le” or “les” whenever there is a direct object pronoun next to it: you say se lo doy, not le lo doy. Our trick to remember it: we tell students that “lelo” and “lela” are insults in Spanish (they mean silly), so they remember it with a smile.

3. Impersonal “se”

This is where students start getting into a muddle. The impersonal “se” is used for general statements, without saying who does the action.

• En España se bebe mucha cerveza. (In Spain people drink a lot of beer.)

4. “Se” for accidents

This is the one that causes most problems and that students use least, because they are afraid of getting it wrong. It is easy to understand that “he roto” (I broke it) and “se me ha roto” (it broke on me, by accident) are different, but much harder to start using it naturally.

Five verbs that change meaning with “se”

Some verbs mean something quite different once you add “se”:

• Acordar / acordarse: “acordar” means to agree on something: Acordaron que la reunión sería el lunes. (They agreed the meeting would be on Monday.) “Acordarse” means to remember. If you have a memory like a goldfish, you’ll often say “no me acuerdo”.
• Encontrar / encontrarse : you “encuentras” something you were looking for, but you “te encuentras” something by chance.
• Creer / creerse: “creer” is close to “pensar”: Creo que escribes muy bien. (I think you write very well.) “Creerse” means to accept something as true: No me creo que se haya dormido otra vez. (I can’t believe he’s overslept again.)
• Dormir / dormirse: “dormir” is about how long you sleep, “dormirse” about the moment you fall asleep: Normalmente me duermo a las 23:30 y duermo ocho horas. (I usually fall asleep at 11.30pm and sleep for eight hours.)
• Fijar / fijarse: “fijar” is to fix something in place, like a picture on a wall. “Fijarse” is to notice: Me he fijado en que tus gafas son nuevas. (I’ve noticed your glasses are new.)

These aren’t the only ones. Discover another key pair in our guide to quedar and quedarse, see “se” at work in the Spanish change verbs, and learn how “se me da bien” works in talking about your skills in Spanish.

Still scared of “se”?

There are a few more uses we haven’t covered here. If you have any doubts, the best way to clear them up is in class: have a look at our Spanish courses in Madrid, or ask us.