Cepillarse Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
The Spanish verb cepillarse means to brush (oneself). You can learn its forms from the full cepillarse conjugation, but forms on their own are not enough: you need to see the verb in real sentences, in conversation, and in the mistakes people actually make. That is what this page is for. Below you will find example sentences grouped by use, two short dialogues, the common mistakes, a ten-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions learners ask most. One sentence to start: Yo me cepillo los dientes después de comer. — "I brush my teeth after eating."
cepillarse is reflexive, so watch for the pronoun in every sentence: me, te, se, nos, os, se. The pronoun always matches the person, and it is part of the verb.
Cepillarse example sentences
Everyday use — the present tense
- Yo me cepillo los dientes después de comer. — "I brush my teeth after eating."
- Tú te cepillas el pelo por la mañana. — "you brush my hair in the morning."
- Él se cepilla los dientes antes de dormir. — "he/she brushes my teeth before sleeping."
- Nosotros nos cepillamos con una pasta nueva. — "we brush with a new toothpaste."
Talking about the past
- Yo me cepillé los dientes antes de dormir. — "I brushed my teeth before sleeping."
- Él se cepillaba con una pasta nueva. — "he/she used to brush with a new toothpaste."
- Nosotros nos cepillamos todos los días. — "we brushed every day."
Plans and wishes
- Yo me cepillaré todos los días. — "I will brush every day."
- Tú te cepillarías en el baño. — "you would brush in the bathroom."
More examples with cepillarse
- Me cepillo los dientes después de comer. — "I brush my teeth after eating."
- Mi hijo se cepilla el pelo por la mañana. — "My son brushes his hair in the morning."
- Anoche me cepillé los dientes antes de dormir. — "Last night I brushed my teeth before sleeping."
- De niña, me cepillaba los dientes con una pasta de fresa. — "As a girl, I used to brush my teeth with a strawberry toothpaste."
- Mañana me cepillaré los dientes después del desayuno. — "Tomorrow I will brush my teeth after breakfast."
- Si tuviera un cepillo nuevo, me cepillaría mejor los dientes. — "If I had a new toothbrush, I would brush my teeth better."
Cepillarse in conversation
Two short dialogues using cepillarse naturally. Read them out loud: hearing the verb in a question and an answer is the fastest way to make the forms stick.
Dialogue 1: making plans
María: ¿Tú te cepillas los dientes después de comer? Carlos: Sí, yo me cepillo los dientes después de comer. ¿Y tú? María: Yo también. ¿Se cepilla el pelo por la mañana? Carlos: Sí, él se cepilla el pelo por la mañana todos los días. María: ¿Y mañana? ¿Tú te cepillarás los dientes antes de dormir? Carlos: Sí, mañana yo me cepillaré los dientes antes de dormir.
In this dialogue María asks Carlos what he does, and then they talk about tomorrow. Notice how the verb changes with the person: te cepillas for tú, me cepillo for yo, se cepilla for él. The future forms at the end (te cepillarás, me cepillaré) show the same verb talking about tomorrow.
Dialogue 2: talking about yesterday
Ana: ¿Tú te cepillas con una pasta nueva? Luis: Sí, yo me cepillo con una pasta nueva. ¿Y tú? Ana: Yo también. ¿Se cepilla todos los días? Luis: Sí, él se cepilla todos los días todos los días. Ana: ¿Y ayer? ¿Tú te cepillaste con una pasta nueva? Luis: Sí, ayer yo me cepillé con una pasta nueva.
Here Ana asks Luis about yesterday, so the answers use the preterite: me cepillé for yo, te cepillaste for tú. The preterite is the right choice because yesterday is finished; the present would describe a habit instead.
Common mistakes with cepillarse in the present
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.
1. Yo cepillo los dientes.
Wrong: Yo cepillo los dientes.
Right: Yo me cepillo los dientes.
Cepillarse is reflexive: you need the pronoun me. Cepillo without a pronoun means you brush something else, like a horse or a jacket.
2. Me cepillas los dientes.
Wrong: Me cepillas los dientes.
Right: Me cepillo los dientes.
Me pairs with the yo form cepillo. Cepillas is the tú form, so me cepillas mixes two different people.
3. Confusing cepillarse with lavarse
Wrong: Me cepillo por la mañana.
Right: Me lavo por la mañana.
Cepillarse is specifically brushing — teeth or hair. Lavarse is washing. You cepillarse los dientes and you lavarse las manos; do not swap them.
4. Using the present for a finished past action
Wrong: Ayer yo me cepillo los dientes después de comer.
Right: Ayer yo me cepillé los dientes después de comer.
Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: me cepillé. The present describes what you do now or usually.
5. Dropping the reflexive pronoun
Wrong: Yo cepillo los dientes después de comer.
Right: Me cepillo los dientes después de comer.
Without the pronoun you are using the non-reflexive verb, which means something else. The pronoun is part of cepillarse.
Quiz: cepillarse in use
Ten questions across five tenses. Choose the right form for each sentence, then check the answers at the end of this section.
- Tú ___ los dientes después de comer (present)
- a) te cepillas
- b) me cepillo
- c) se cepilla
- d) nos cepillamos
- Nosotros ___ el pelo por la mañana (preterite)
- a) me cepillé
- b) te cepillaste
- c) se cepilló
- d) nos cepillamos
- Ellos ___ los dientes antes de dormir (imperfect)
- a) te cepillabas
- b) se cepillaba
- c) se cepillaban
- d) me cepillaba
- Tú ___ con una pasta nueva (future)
- a) nos cepillaremos
- b) te cepillarás
- c) me cepillaré
- d) se cepillará
- Nosotros ___ todos los días (conditional)
- a) nos cepillaríamos
- b) me cepillaría
- c) te cepillarías
- d) se cepillaría
- Ellos ___ en el baño (present)
- a) me cepillo
- b) te cepillas
- c) se cepilla
- d) se cepillan
- Tú ___ los dientes después de comer (preterite)
- a) se cepilló
- b) nos cepillamos
- c) te cepillaste
- d) me cepillé
- Nosotros ___ el pelo por la mañana (imperfect)
- a) se cepillaba
- b) nos cepillábamos
- c) me cepillaba
- d) te cepillabas
- Ellos ___ los dientes antes de dormir (future)
- a) se cepillarán
- b) me cepillaré
- c) te cepillarás
- d) se cepillará
- Tú ___ con una pasta nueva (conditional)
- a) me cepillaría
- b) se cepillaría
- c) nos cepillaríamos
- d) te cepillarías
Answers
- a) te cepillas — the present form, for tú.
- d) nos cepillamos — the preterite form, for nosotros/as.
- c) se cepillaban — the imperfect form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
- b) te cepillarás — the future form, for tú.
- a) nos cepillaríamos — the conditional form, for nosotros/as.
- d) se cepillan — the present form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
- c) te cepillaste — the preterite form, for tú.
- b) nos cepillábamos — the imperfect form, for nosotros/as.
- a) se cepillarán — the future form, for ellos/ellas/Uds..
- d) te cepillarías — the conditional form, for tú.
Frequently asked questions about cepillarse
Do I say cepillarse los dientes or cepillar los dientes?
Both are heard, but cepillarse los dientes is the standard reflexive form for brushing your own teeth. Cepillar los dientes without the pronoun is also possible, but the reflexive version is what learners should use first.
Is cepillarse regular?
Yes. It is a regular -ar reflexive verb: me cepillo, te cepillas, se cepilla, nos cepillamos, os cepilláis, se cepillan. The only thing to learn is the pronoun, which always matches the person.
What are the gerund and the past participle of cepillarse?
The gerund is cepillando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy cepillando), and the past participle is cepillado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he cepillado).
Where does the reflexive pronoun go?
Before the conjugated verb: Me cepillo, te cepillas, se cepilla. The pronoun always matches the person: me with yo, te with tú, se with él/ella, nos with nosotros, os with vosotros, se with ellos/ellas.
How to remember cepillarse
Four small habits will fix cepillarse in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: me cepillo, te cepillas, se cepilla, nos cepillamos, os cepilláis, se cepillan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (me cepillo), one about yesterday with the preterite (me cepillé), and one about tomorrow with the future (me cepillaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from lavarse: Cepillarse is specifically brushing — teeth or hair. Lavarse is washing. You cepillarse los dientes and you lavarse las manos; do not swap them. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund cepillando and the past participle cepillado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy cepillando) and the present perfect (he cepillado), which covers most everyday conversation.
Related pages
- Cepillarse conjugation: full tables — every tense of cepillarse on one page.
- Cepillarse Present tense — the deep dive on cepillarse in the present.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for all Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Spanish verb quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.
- Conjugation practice — fill-in-the-blank drills with instant feedback.
- Reflexive verb conjugator — reflexive verbs with the right pronoun for every person.