Get Ready in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to talk about getting ready in Spanish! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• talk about personal hygiene

• say when you do everyday tasks

Vocabulary

Let's take a look at the vocab you learn in these lessons!

Nouns

Spanish	English
la cara	face
el diente	tooth
los lentes	glasses
la mano	hand
el pelo	hair

Gender Tip

The word mano ends in an o, but it is a feminine noun.

la mano

el mano

las manos

los manos

Regional Differences

• The word lentes is a masculine noun in the majority of Latin American countries: los lentes (glasses).

• The word lentes is a feminine noun in Spain: las lentes (glasses).

Adverbs and Adjectives

You learn one adverb and one adjective in these lessons.

Spanish	English
casi	almost
listo	ready

examples
¿Estás listo? Are you ready?
Casi estoy lista. I'm almost ready.

A Timely Question

You also learn a very handy question for asking at what time something is done!

Spanish	English
¿A qué hora?	At what time?

This question can also be combined with a verb!

examples
¿A qué hora te duermes? - A las diez. What time do you go to sleep? - At ten.
¿A qué hora te despiertas? - A las ocho. What time do you wake up? - At eight.

Reflexive Verbs and Reflexive Pronouns

Quick Answer

A reflexive pronoun (pronombre reflexivo) is used as part of a reflexive verb (verbo reflexivo) to indicate that someone or something is performing an action on or for itself.

Reflexive Pronouns in Use

Many actions related to personal care or daily routines are reflexive, but other verbs can be reflexive as well. In the sentences below, the subject performs the action on itself, and the subject and object of the verb refer to the same entity. Compare two sentences in which one is reflexive and one is not. In the reflexive sentence, the subject and object refer to the same entity.

	Spanish	English
Reflexive	Yo me lavo las manos.	I wash my hands.
Not Reflexive	Yo lavo el coche.	I wash the car.

Match your Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns should match the subject of a sentence in number. Let's take a look at the different reflexive pronouns you'll see in Spanish.

Reflexive Pronoun Forms

Person	Singular Pronouns	Plural Pronouns
First Person	me(matches with yo)	nos(matches with nosotros or nosotras)
Second Person	te(matches with tú) OR se(matches with usted)	os(matches with vosotros or vosotras) OR se(matches with ustedes)
Third Person	se(matches with él or ella)	se(matches with ellos or ellas)

Let's take a look at all the reflexive verbs you learn in these lessons!

Acostarse

Acostarse(to go to bed) is both a reflexive verb and a stem-changing verb.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me acuesto	I go to bed
tú	te acuestas	you go to bed	informal singular you
vos	te acostás	you go to bed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se acuesta	he, she goes to bed
usted	se acuesta	you go to bed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos acostamos	we go to bed
vosotros, vosotras	os acostáis	you go to bed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se acuestan	they go to bed
ustedes	se acuestan	you go to bed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Afeitarse

Afeitarseis a reflexive verb that means to shave.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me afeito	I shave
tú	te afeitas	you shave	informal singular you
vos	te afeitás	you shave	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se afeita	he, she shaves
usted	se afeita	you shave	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos afeitamos	we shave
vosotros, vosotras	os afeitáis	you shave	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se afeitan	they shave
ustedes	se afeitan	you shave	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Bañarse

Bañarseis a reflexive verb that means to bathe, to take a bath, and (in parts of Latin America) to take a shower.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me baño	I bathe
tú	te bañas	you bathe	informal singular you
vos	te bañás	you bathe	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se baña	he, she bathes
usted	se baña	you bathe	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos bañamos	we bathe
vosotros, vosotras	os bañáis	you bathe	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se bañan	they bathe
ustedes	se bañan	you bathe	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Despertarse

Despertarse(to wake up) is both a reflexive verb and a stem-changing verb.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation
yo	me despierto	I wake up
tú	te despiertas	you wake up
vos	te despertás	you wake up
él, ella	se despierta	he, she wakes up
usted	se despierta	you wake up
nosotros, nosotras	nos despertamos	we wake up
vosotros, vosotras	os despertáis	you wake up
ellos, ellas	se despiertan	they wake up
ustedes	se despiertan	you wake up

Dormirse

Dormirse(to go to bed) is both a reflexive verb and a stem-changing verb.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation
yo	me duermo	I go to sleep
tú	te duermes	you go to sleep
vos	te dormís	you go to sleep
él, ella	se duerme	he, she goes to sleep
usted	se duerme	you go to sleep
nosotros, nosotras	nos dormimos	we go to sleep
vosotros, vosotras	os dormís	you go to sleep
ellos, ellas	se duermen	they go to sleep
ustedes	se duermen	you go to sleep

Lavarse

Lavarseis a reflexive verb that means to wash.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me lavo	I wash
tú	te lavas	you wash	informal singular you
vos	te lavás	you wash	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se lava	he, she washs
usted	se lava	you wash	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos lavamos	we wash
vosotros, vosotras	os laváis	you wash	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se lavan	they wash
ustedes	se lavan	you wash	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Lavarse is always used with a noun, as in the following phrases:

Spanish	English
lavarse el pelo	to wash one's hair
lavarse la cara	to wash one's face
lavarse la manos	to wash one's hands
lavarse los dientes	to brush one's teeth

examples
Me lavo las manos en la mañana. I wash my hands in the morning.
Me lavo el pelo en la tarde. I wash my hair in the afternoon.
Me lavo la cara en la noche. I wash my face at night.
Me lavo los dientes en la mañana y en la noche. I brush my teeth in the morning and at night.

Levantarse

Levantarseis a reflexive verb that means to get up.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me levanto	I get up
tú	te levantas	you get up	informal singular you
vos	te levantás	you get up	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se levanta	he, she get ups
usted	se levanta	you get up	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos levantamos	we get up
vosotros, vosotras	os levantáis	you get up	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se levantan	they get up
ustedes	se levantan	you get up	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Peinarse

Peinarseis a reflexive verb that means to comb one's hair.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me peino	I comb my hair
tú	te peinas	you comb your hair	informal singular you
vos	te peinás	you comb your hair	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se peina	he, she combs his/her hair
usted	se peina	you comb your hair	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos peinamos	we comb our hair
vosotros, vosotras	os peináis	you comb your hair	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se peinan	they comb their hair
ustedes	se peinan	you comb their hair	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Ponerse

You learned ponerse in previous lessons, but let's review how to conjugate this verb, which means to put on or to wear.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me pongo	I put on
tú	te pones	you put on	informal singular you
vos	te ponés	you put on	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se pone	he, she puts on
usted	se pone	you put on	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos ponemos	we put on
vosotros, vosotras	os ponéis	you put on	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se ponen	they put on
ustedes	se ponen	you put on	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Ponerse is often used with accessories or items of clothing.

Spanish	English
ponerse los lentes	to put on one's glasses
ponerse la ropa	to put on clothes

examples
Me pongo los lentes en la mañana. I put on my glasses in the morning.
En la mañana me despierto y me pongo la ropa. In the morning I wake up and I put on clothes

Vestirse

Vestirse(to get dressed) is both a reflexive verb and a stem-changing verb

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me visto	I get dressed
tú	te vistes	you get dressed	informal singular you
vos	te vestís	you get dressed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se viste	he, she gets dressed
usted	se viste	you get dressed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos vestimos	we get dressed
vosotros, vosotras	os vestís	you get dressed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se visten	they get dressed
ustedes	se visten	you get dressed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Quiz Yourself!

Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!

Spanish Conversation

Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.

Marco:

¿Quieres ir de vacaciones con mis primos?

Do you want to go on vacation with my cousins?

Laura:

¿A qué hora se despiertan?

What time do they wake up?

Marco:

Se despiertan a las dos de la tarde.

They wake up at two in the afternoon.

Laura:

Yo me despierto a las seis de la mañana. ¿A qué hora se acuestan?

I wake up at six in the morning. What time do they go to bed?

Marco:

Se acuestan a las cinco de la mañana.

They go to bed at five in the morning.

Laura:

Yo me acuesto a las ocho de la noche.

I go to bed at eight at night.

Marco:

Te duermes en la noche y te levantas en la mañana. Mis primos se duermen en la mañana y se levantan en la tarde.

You go to sleep at night and get up in the morning. My cousins go to sleep in the morning and get up in the afternoon.

Laura:

Sí. No quiero ir de vacaciones con ellos.

Yes. I don't want to go on vacation with them.

Want to learn more about how to talk about family in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• Reflexive Verbs and Reflexive Pronouns

• Body Parts in Spanish