List of Difficult French Reflexive Verb Expressions + Exercises

I’ve written a series of articles on French reflexive verbs, so in this article, I will only concentrate on these reflexive verbs that have an idiomatic meaning, or that are particularly difficult to understand or remember for English speakers, such as “se moquer de quelqu’un” – to taunt, mock, pick on, make fun of someone.

La jeune fille se moque de son petit-frère.
The girl is picking on her little brother.

If you can think of more examples of difficult / idiomatic French reflexive verbs, please add them in the comment section below with the English translation, and I’ll add them up to the list.

Idiomatic / Difficult French Reflexive Verbs

to go away = s’en aller (not followed by anything)
to have fun = s’amuser
to expect = s’attendre à
to wonder whether = se demander si
to manage, get by = se débrouiller
to hurry up = se dépêcher
to relax = se détendre
to head toward= se diriger vers
to have a hunch = se douter de/que
to move on the side to let something go by = s’écarter
to get (farther) away from something = s’éloigner de
to be bored = s’embêter
to be bored = s’ennuyer
to get along with someone = s’entendre (bien /mal) avec qq’un
to get angry at someone = se fâcher contre qq’un
to get used to = s’habituer à
to be interested in = s’intéresser à
to worry = s’inquiéter
to settle in (eg, a home) = s’installer dans
to be wary of = se méfier
to make fun of someone = se moquer de
to begin to = se mettre à
to take care of = s’occuper de
to remember = se rappeler
to find something delicious = se régaler
to realize = se rendre compte de
to gather together = se réunir
to feel = se sentir
to be located = se situer
to remember = se souvenir de
to be mistaken = se tromper
to be located = se trouver

How can I Remember the Meaning of These French Reflexive Verbs?

The best way to remember these tricky French reflexive verbs meaning is to learn them in the context of a sentence. Link them to a visual situation, not to English words, since sometimes, the French and English won’t match.

Tromper quelqu’un = to cheat (on) someone
Se tromper = to be mistaken.

So, if you apply the reflexive verb logic, se tromper = to cheat on oneself. It’s kind of far form to be mistaken… Translation won’t help. You have to consider these verbs like idioms, and learn them in context!

Beware of Cognate French Verbs

It’s like “se moquer”. The connection with “to mock” is not hard, it’s what we call “a cognate”, a word that is the same between French and English.

But why should it be reflexive? You don’t mock yourself someone…

Furthermore, how often to you use “to mock” in English? Most of the time, you’d say “to make fun of someone, or to pick on someone”… You may then have a hard time remembering the French translation is “se moquer de quelqu’un”…

So cognates are a double sword “friend” – you think you already know the word, and it’s easy to remember its meaning when you read it, but because you think you know it, you don’t spend time learning it, and when you need to use it yourself you often forget “it’s kind of the same as in English”… except that it’s not exactly the same… So at the end, you should spend more time learning cognates, not less!

Check out my French audiobook method to learn French: structured around an ongoing novel, you’ll learn French grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and expressions in context, and remember everything longer.

Idiomatic / Difficult French Pronominal Verbs Exercises

Now let’s train with these difficult French pronominal verbs. Even if you don’t do the exercises, I encourage you to read the answers since they make good “in context” examples for these reflexive verbs which are typically difficult to understand for students.

1) s’en aller (not followed by anything)
Le bateau _____________.
Le bateau s’en va.
The boat goes away.

2) s’attendre à
Chloé _____________ à recevoir des fleurs.
Chloé s’attend à recevoir des fleurs.
Chloé expects to receive flowers.

3) se demander si
Vous _____________ si vous avez raison.
Vous vous demandez si vous avez raison.
You wonder whether you are right.

4) se débrouiller
Je _____________ toute seule.
Je me débrouille toute seule.
I manage by myself.

5) se dépêcher
Pierre et toi _____________ de finir ce travail.
Pierre et toi vous dépêchez de finir ce travail.
You hurry up to finish this work.

6) se détendre
Ils _____________ le weekend.
Ils se détendent le weekend.
They relax during the weekend.

7) se diriger vers
Les étudiantes _____________ vers le musée.
Les étudiantes se dirigent vers le musée.
The students head toward the museum.

8) se douter de/que
Je _____________ de quelque chose.
Je me doute de quelque chose.
I have a hunch on something.

9) s’écarter
Mon ami et moi _____________ de ce chien.
Mon ami et moi nous écartons de ce chien.
We move on the side of that dog.

10) s’éloigner de
Vous _____________ de l’océan.
Vous vous éloignez de l’océan.
You get farther from the ocean.

11) s’embêter
Tu _____________ quand tu es tout seul.
Tu t’embêtes quand tu es tout seul.
You are bored when you are by yourself.

12) s’ennuyer
Il _____________ à l’école.
Il s’ennuie à l’école.
He is bored at school.

13) s’entendre (bien /mal) avec qq’un Arthur et moi _____________ très bien.
Arthur et moi nous entendons très bien.
Arthur and I get along very well.

14) se fâcher contre qq’un
Je _____________ contre les enfants.
Je me fâche contre les enfants.
I get angry at the children

15) s’habituer à
Tu _____________ à ta nouvelle vie.
Tu t’habitues à ta nouvelle vie.
You are getting used to your new life

16) s’interesser à
Nous _____________ au sport.
Nous nous intéressons au sport.
We are interested in sports

17) S’inquiéter
Je _____________ pour ma soeur.
Je m’inquiète pour ma soeur.
I worry about my sister.

18) s’installer dans
L’étudiant _____________ dans son nouvel appartement.
L’étudiant s’installe dans son nouvel appartement.
The student settles into his new apartment.

19) se méfier
Nous _____________ de lui.
Nous nous méfions de lui.
We are wary of him.

20) se moquer de
Les méchants enfants _____________ de la grosse fille
Les méchants enfants se moquent de la grosse fille.
The nasty children make fun of the big girl.

21) se mettre à
Soudainement il _____________ à pleuvoir.
Soudainement il se met à pleuvoir.
Suddenly it starts to rain.

22) s’occuper de
On _____________ du dîner.
On s’occupe du dîner.
We are taking care of dinner.

23) se rappeler
Je _____________ les vacances en Italie.
Je me rappelle les vacances en Italie.
I remember our vacation in Italy.

24) se régaler
Le chien _____________ avec les os frais.
Le chien se régale avec les os frais.
The dog finds the fresh bones delicious.

25) se rendre compte de
On _____________ se rend compte du froid.
On se rend compte du froid.
We realize how cold it is.

26) se reunir
La famille _____________ tous les dimanches.
La famille se réunit tous les dimanches.
The family gets together every sunday.

27) se sentir
Je _____________ bien avec toi.
Je me sens bien avec toi.
I feel good with you.

28) se situer
La poste _____________ à côté de la gare.
La poste se situe à côté de la gare.
The post office is next to the train station.

29) se souvenir de
Tu _____________ des vacances en Italie.
Tu te souviens des vacances en Italie.
You remember the vacations in Italy.

30) se tromper
Nous ne _____________ pas souvent.
Nous ne nous trompons pas souvent.
We’re not often mistaken.

31) se trouver
La poste _____________ à côté de la gare.
La poste se trouve à côté de la gare.
The post office is located next to the train station.