How to use "Se" in Spanish (Common & Uncommon Usages)

Learn Spanish - Unpacking how to use “se”

If you have been learning Spanish for some time, chances are you have come across the Spanish “se” at least once. You might have heard of the pronoun “se” or using “se” as an impersonal voice. You might even be wondering what is the difference between “se” and “sé”?

So, how many different usages of “se” are there really?

Well, the truth is - there are VARIOUS usages of the word “se” in the Spanish language. Today, we’ll go over all of the usages of the Spanish “se”, each with examples in both Spanish and English. We’ll start with some of the more common usages of “se” in Spanish and then move onto some of the more uncommon usages.

Listo? Let’s go straight to the examples then!

1. The pronoun “se” in reflexive verbs

Probably the most commonly known usage of the word “se” in Spanish, “se” acts as a reflexive pronoun when used in verbs that talk about the subject doing and receiving the action at the same time.

Most beginners will even know this usage of “se”! The third person singular and third person plural versions of reflexive verbs will use the pronoun “se”.

Some examples are:

Mi hermano se levantó tarde esta mañana. (levantarse)

My brother got up late this morning.

Julio se ducha por la noche. (ducharse)

Julio showers at night.

Mis primos se fueron de vacaciones (irse)

My cousins went on vacation

2. Reciprocal “se” in verbs

Some verbs can have reciprocal meanings as well. This usage is only in the third person plural version of the verb. This is used when an action is reciprocal, in other words, one person is doing something to a second person and visa versa.

Here are some examples:

Los niños se pelean cada día

The kids fight (with each other) every day.

Aunque me sorprendió, el gato y el perro se llevan bien.

Although it surprised me, the cat and the dog get along well (with each other)

3. “Se” when replacing the indirect pronoun “le”

When using both the indirect and direct pronouns, “se” is used to avoid saying the le lo, le la, le los, and le las indirect direct pronoun combindations. This is just one of those Spanish grammar rules that you have to save to memory and get used it.

Let’s see some examples below:

Le dije (a Julio) ayer (que ya no vamos), pero avísale por si acaso.

I told Julio yesterday that we aren’t going anymore, but let him know just in case.

Se lo dije ayer pero avísale por si acaso.

I told him (that we aren’t going anymore) yesterday, but let him know just in case.

Le dieron las fotos a mamá ayer, preguntale si las quieres.

They gave the photos to mom yesterday, ask her if you want them.

Se las dieron ayer, preguntale si las quieres

They gave them (the photos) (to her) yesterday, ask her if you want them.

4. “Se” can be used as the passive voice (aka pasiva refleja)

This usage of “se” is super common for Ads and in “For Sale” posters. Some common examples are “se vende” and “se alquila” which are “For Sale” and “For Rent” respectively.

Let’s take a look at how this phrase is constructed below.

Se venden dos coches.

Two cars are up for sale. Note here that for pasiva refleja, one must use a properly conjugated verb as well. As there are two cares, we must remember to use the third person plural from of vender, and as a result we say “Se venden dos coches”.

If it was singular, it would be conjugated in third person. See below:

Se vende este coche.

This car is for sale.

While in English, the passive voice is very commonly used, in Spanish it is not so much the case. However, when the passive voice is used, usually “se” is the more common way to do so.

Se necesita tiempo para aprender el español.

Time is needed to learn Spanish.

5. “Se” as the impersonal voice

This can loosely be translated into English as “one” + verb. For example in the phrase:

Nunca se sabe si vas a llegar tarde o no.

The phrase can loosely be translated as “One never knows if you are going to be late or not” or “It’s never known if you’ll arrive late or not”. Yes, I know we probably would never use one of those two phrases in English. Perhaps we would express this sentiment with a different phrase, something along the lines of “No one ever knows if you are going to be late or not.”

Remember, direct translations can be your worst enemy if you are at the intermediate or advanced stage of learning Spanish. I would recommend just doing a lot of listening and reading practice so you understand what sentence structures are more common.

Se habla español en Argentina.

This is another example of the impersonal voice which would be loosely translated to the passive voice in English. I would translate this phrase as “Spanish is spoken in Argentina”, although you can also think of it as “One speaks Spanish in Argentina”

6. Using “se” to explain “accidents”

A less known, but not uncommon, usage of “se” can be used for when something accidentally “happens” to a person. It is commonly used to emphasize one of two things:

1. Take away the blame of the subject
2. Indicate that the subject suffers as a result of this verb.

Let’s see an example of taking away the blame:

Se me perdieron las llaves.

The keys were lost (to me). (It’s not my fault, but the keys were lost)

This is almost similar to using the passive voice as a way of removing blame. Instead of saying “I lost the keys”, you are saying “the keys were lost”.

Here are some more examples:

Se me ha roto el vaso porque el suelo está resbaladizo.

The glass broke (and I’m not to blame) because the floor is slippery.

On the other hand, it can also be used to show that the subject was negatively affected by the action.

¡Se me han robado la cartera! Que hago?

My wallet was stolen (and it affects me)! What do I do?

Here, we use the “se” to emphasize that the subject (I, first person) is directly negatively affected by the action (stealing a wallet).

7. “Se” can also be used as an “intensifier”

For me, this was probably the least common usage of “se”, but it can be used as an intensifier for certain words.

Juan se comió dos pizzas enteras!

Juan ate two whole pizzas (but with the feeling more like “gobble up”, “devoured”, “downed”)

Maria se bebió toda la botella

Maria drank the whole bottle (but more like “chugged”, “downed”)

Note that the sentence could totally make sense without the “se”. The additional “se” simplify emphasizes the verb and is usually only used with the verbs comer and beber.

8. What is the difference between “se” vs “sé”?

An important point to highlight is that the difference between “se” and “sé”. The Spanish “se” holds all the usages that we have just gone over in the points above. The word “sé”, however, is only used as a conjugated form of two different words: saber (to know) and ser (to be). The accent, or known as the tilde in Spanish (not to be confused with the English tilde), is necessary for these conjugated forms as they help the reader distinguish between this usage of “sé” and the usages of “se”. Note, however, that the words are pronounced exactly the same.

a) First-person conjugation of the word saber (to know)

When the verb saber (to know) is conjugated in first person, it transforms into the word sé。 Therefore, if you want to say for example I know how to swim you can say in Spanish you would say it as:

Yo sé nadar

I know how to swim

b) Imperative conjugation of the word ser (to be)

On the other hand, when the verb ser (to be) is conjugated in first person, it also transforms into the word sé in Spanish. A common example you might here is the phrase sé tu mismo or in English, be yourself, which is a typical phrase you might hear when someone is trying to give advice.

Sé tu mismo

Be yourself!

Conclusion - Wrapping up the usages of “Se” in Spanish

Well there you have it! Those are all of the various usages of the word “se” in Spanish. If there is a particular form that you are still not used to, I would recommend you that you practice using them to get the hang of things. For me personally, writing has been a HUGE help. You can try making sentences with words and phrases that you are not familiar with and then asking a native speaker for corrections.

I hope this article was helpful for you in your journey to learn Spanish!

For your next read, maybe consider checking out 5 Spanish Slang Words From Spain That Sound Like English?!

Wish you happy and fruitful Spanish studies!