From the very first Russian lessons, they're everywhere: учиться, нравиться, встречаться, начинаться. They all end in the little particle -ся (or -сь after a vowel). Textbooks often translate it as "-self", but most of the time that doesn't work at all. So what does it really do?
There's a simple idea behind most -ся verbs, and English already has it hidden in plain sight.
🔗 -ся is "oneself" glued to the verb
Historically, -ся is a short form of себя, "oneself". Instead of saying "wash oneself", Russian glued the pronoun onto the end of the verb: мыть (to wash something) becomes мыться (to wash oneself, to have a wash).
From there, -ся took on several related meanings:
| Meaning | Russian | English |
|---|
| on oneself | мыться, одеваться | to wash, to get dressed |
| each other | встречаться, познакомиться | to meet, to get acquainted |
| no object | урок начинается | the lesson starts |
🔄 The "no object" rule
The last row of that table is the most useful one. English verbs like "start", "open" or "close" work both ways: I start the lesson, the lesson starts. Russian needs two different forms:
- Я начинаю урок. → I start the lesson. (there's an object: no -ся)
- Урок начинается. → The lesson starts. (no object: -ся)
So whenever an English verb is used "on its own", with nothing receiving the action, check whether Russian needs -ся. Дверь открывается (the door opens), магазин закрывается (the shop is closing), фильм кончается (the film is ending).
Feelings often take -ся
Many verbs of emotion carry -ся too, even though nothing reflexive is going on: бояться (to be afraid), волноваться (to worry), радоваться (to be glad), смеяться (to laugh), улыбаться (to smile). A handy way to see it: in English these are often "be + adjective" (be afraid, be glad, be worried), describing a state you're in rather than an action on something. Russian marks that state with -ся.
нравиться, the upside-down verb
One verb deserves its own section: нравиться. Мне нравится Москва isn't built like "I like Moscow". It's built like "Moscow appeals to me". The thing you like is the subject, and the person goes into the dative (мне, to me). Think "appeal to" or "be pleasing to", not "like", and the Russian sentence falls into place.
📝 The "passive" -ся: how is it spelled?
One last very common use: with a thing as the subject, -ся gives a passive meaning. English does this with "is + past participle", or sometimes with no marker at all:
- Как пишется это слово? → How is this word spelled?
- Эта книга хорошо продаётся. → This book sells well.
- Магазин открывается в девять. → The shop opens at nine.
Learn the first sentence by heart: it's the perfect question for asking a Russian speaker for help. And notice the last two: English "sells" and "opens" have no marker, but Russian keeps -ся, because the book doesn't sell anything and the shop doesn't open anything. They undergo the action.
📖 A real example: the dialogue "Знакомство"
In the dialogue "Знакомство" (Meeting) on Linguami, a Frenchman and a Russian journalist meet in the street. In just a few lines, three -ся verbs appear, each with a different meaning:
— Очень приятно. Я Саша. — Приятно познакомиться, Саша.
познакомиться: a mutual action, "get acquainted with each other". Without -ся, познакомить means "to introduce someone to someone".
A little further on:
— Один год. Мне очень нравится Москва. — Вы хорошо говорите по-русски! — Спасибо. Я ещё учусь.
- Мне очень нравится Москва: I really like Moscow, literally "Moscow really appeals to me". Moscow is the subject, мне is dative.
- Я ещё учусь: I'm still learning. No "-self" meaning at all: учиться simply means "to study, to be learning". Compare учить, without -ся, which takes an object: я учу русский (I'm learning Russian).
In the dialogue "В магазине одежды" (At the Clothing Store), нравиться shows that it agrees with what's liked: мне не нравится этот фасон (I don't like this style), but мне нравятся вон те, коричневые (I like those brown ones), plural because they're trousers.
In the full dialogue, click any verb to see its translation, grammatical form and aspect partner.
⚠️ Common mistakes English speakers make
1. Building нравиться like "like"
❌ Я нравлю Москву. ✅ Мне нравится Москва. Or, if you want a "like"-shaped sentence: Я люблю Москву (I love Moscow).
2. Dropping -ся when there's no object
❌ Урок начинает в девять. ✅ Урок начинается в девять. The lesson doesn't start anything, it just starts: -ся.
3. Translating -ся as "-self" every time
Я учусь isn't "I teach myself", and я смеюсь isn't "I laugh myself". Many -ся verbs simply have to be learned as they are: смеяться (to laugh), бояться (to be afraid), улыбаться (to smile). Treat the -ся as part of the word, not as a meaning to translate.
4. Mixing up учить and учиться
❌ Я учусь русский язык. ✅ Я учу русский язык. (I'm learning Russian) / Я учусь в университете. (I study at university). With an object, учить; without one, учиться.
🚀 Where to go next
- The lesson Reflexive verbs in -ся (A1): conjugation, -ся or -сь, the basic meanings.
- себя and свой: the reflexive (A2), the "oneself" that -ся comes from.
- The meanings of -ся verbs (B2): all five meanings of -ся, including the passive and impersonal uses.
- The dative: to whom, liking and age (A1), to master мне нравится.
Read next: Russian perfective and imperfective aspect. Many -ся verbs come in aspect pairs too: знакомиться / познакомиться.
More on this topic: The 6 Russian cases explained simply (the dative behind мне нравится).
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