-ся or -сь: the forms
First conjugate the verb as normal (change its ending for who is doing it, see present tense). Then add -ся if the form ends in a consonant, -сь if it ends in a vowel.
Both -ться (dictionary form) and -тся (he, she, they) are said “-tsa”.
| Who | Form | Why this ending |
|---|---|---|
| яI | умыва́ю ends in a vowel → -сь | |
| тыyou (one friend) | ends in the consonant ш → -ся | |
| он, она́he, she | ends in т → -ся; -тся sounds “-tsa” | |
| мыwe | ends in м → -ся | |
| выyou (polite, many) | ends in the vowel е → -сь | |
| они́they | ends in т → -ся |
With and without -ся
Most -ся verbs have a partner without it. The plain verb is done to something. Add -ся and the object disappears: the action returns to the doer, passes between two people, or simply happens.
Without -ся you wash something; with -ся the washing comes back to you. English often says “wash” for both and lets you guess.
одева́ть needs a person to dress. одева́ться means you dress yourself: “get dressed”.
With a plural subject, -ся can mean “each other”: the meeting goes both ways.
English uses “start” both ways. Russian adds -ся when nobody is doing the starting: the lesson starts on its own.
“Is being done”: -ся as the passive
A passive sentence talks about what happens to something without naming who does it: “tickets are sold here”. With things (not people) as the subject, Russian makes the passive with -ся.
Verbs that always have -ся
Some verbs have no partner without -ся. Learn them as whole words; the ending carries no extra meaning. Several are about feelings and the face.
| Verb | What comes next | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| смея́тьсяsmi-YAT’-sato laugh | над + instrumental | над (at) needs the instrumental case, the “with, by” form: шу́тка → шу́ткой. | |
| улыба́тьсяu-ly-BAT’-sato smile | dative · to whom | The person you smile at takes the dative case, the “to” form: ма́ма → ма́ме. | |
| боя́тьсяba-YAT’-sato be afraid | genitive · of what | What you fear goes in the genitive case, the “of” case: темнота́ → темноты́. | |
| наде́ятьсяna-DYE-it’-sato hope | что + a clause | Usually followed by что (that) and a whole clause. | |
| стара́тьсяsta-RAT’-sato try, do one’s best | infinitive · to do | Followed by the infinitive, the “to” form of the next verb. |
Feelings without “I”
With -ся and the person in the dative case (the “to” or “for” form: мне, “to me”), Russian describes something that happens to you rather than something you do: sleep that won’t come, a wish that comes over you. The verb is always in the “it” form.
Use мне не спи́тся on a restless night. The plain version just reports a fact.
хо́чется is softer than хочу́: a passing wish, not a demand. Polite and very common.
With хорошо́ (well) or пло́хо (badly), the -ся form says how the work is going for you, not how hard you try.
A warm way to ask about someone’s life. Use тебе́ with a friend, вам with someone you address politely.
When -ся changes the meaning
For some verbs, -ся does more than point the action back: it creates a new word with its own meaning. Learn these pairs as separate vocabulary.
| Without -ся | With -ся | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| учи́тьu-CHEET’to teach; to learn (words) | учи́тьсяu-CHEET’-sato study, be a student | учи́ть takes what you learn: учу́ слова́, “I’m learning words”. учи́ться is being a student somewhere. | |
| находи́тьna-kha-DEET’to find | находи́тьсяna-kha-DEET’-sato be located | Literally “finds itself”. The standard way to say where a building or city is. | |
| проща́тьpra-SHCHAT’to forgive | проща́тьсяpra-SHCHAT’-sato say goodbye | Saying goodbye was once asking forgiveness of each other. The person you leave follows с (with): проща́ться с дру́гом. | |
| занима́тьza-ni-MAT’to occupy; to borrow | занима́тьсяza-ni-MAT’-sato do, be busy with | The activity takes the instrumental case, the “with, by” form: спорт → спо́ртом, му́зыка → му́зыкой. | |
| явля́тьyev-LYAT’to show (bookish) | явля́тьсяyev-LYAT’-sato be (formal writing) | The written “is” of news, textbooks and documents. What follows takes the instrumental: столи́ца → столи́цей. |
-ся, себя́ or друг дру́га?
Russian has three ways to say “oneself” and “each other”. -ся is the everyday choice for routine actions. The full words себя́ (oneself) and друг дру́га (each other) work with any verb, including verbs that have no -ся form or where -ся means something else.
With or without -ся?
Ask one question: is there an object, a someone or something the action is done to? If yes, no -ся. Answer to see the full gloss.