Introduction

reflejarse means “to be reflected”. It belongs to the group of Spanish verbs that express “to be reflected”, and once you can conjugate it you can say a surprising amount with a single verb. This page is the complete reference for reflejarse: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, with notes on usage, real example sentences, common mistakes, a quiz and frequently asked questions. reflejarse is a reflexive -ar verb. If it is irregular in a tense, the note under that table says so plainly, and the forms in the table are the correct ones — copy them, do not guess them from the infinitive. A first example to fix the verb in your mind: “La imagen se refleja en el espejo todos los días.” — “The image is reflected in the mirror.”

Quick facts
Infinitive reflejarse
English to be reflected
Verb type Reflexive -ar verb
Gerund reflejando
Past participle reflejado
Auxiliary verb haber
  • Reflexive: yes — always use it with the reflexive pronouns me, te, se, nos, os, se.

Full conjugation tables

Gerund: reflejando · Past participle: reflejado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo reflejo
tú reflejas
él/ella/Ud. refleja
nosotros/as reflejamos
vosotros/as reflejáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejan

The present tense describes habits, facts and what is happening now. For reflejarse, the yo form is reflejo, as in “La imagen se refleja en el espejo.” — “The image is reflected in the mirror.”

Preterite

Person Form
yo reflejé
tú reflejaste
él/ella/Ud. reflejó
nosotros/as reflejamos
vosotros/as reflejasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejaron

The preterite describes completed actions in the past — things that started and finished. For reflejarse, the yo form is reflejé, as in “La imagen se reflejó en el espejo.” — “The image was reflected in the mirror.”

Imperfect

Person Form
yo reflejaba
tú reflejabas
él/ella/Ud. reflejaba
nosotros/as reflejábamos
vosotros/as reflejabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejaban

The imperfect describes the past as background: habits, descriptions and actions in progress. For reflejarse, the yo form is reflejaba, as in “La imagen se reflejaba en el espejo.” — “The image used to be reflected in the mirror.”

Future

Person Form
yo reflejaré
tú reflejarás
él/ella/Ud. reflejará
nosotros/as reflejaremos
vosotros/as reflejaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejarán

The future tense states what will happen. It is also used for predictions and promises. For reflejarse, the yo form is reflejaré, as in “La imagen se reflejará en el espejo.” — “The image will be reflected in the mirror.”

Conditional

Person Form
yo reflejaría
tú reflejarías
él/ella/Ud. reflejaría
nosotros/as reflejaríamos
vosotros/as reflejaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejarían

The conditional expresses what would happen: wishes, polite requests and hypothetical results. For reflejarse, the yo form is reflejaría, as in “La imagen se reflejaría en el espejo.” — “The image would be reflected in the mirror.”

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he reflejado
tú has reflejado
él/ella/Ud. ha reflejado
nosotros/as hemos reflejado
vosotros/as habéis reflejado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han reflejado

The present perfect connects the past with the present: something that has happened, often today or recently. For reflejarse, the yo form is he reflejado, as in “La imagen se ha reflejado en el espejo.” — “The image has been reflected in the mirror.”

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había reflejado
tú habías reflejado
él/ella/Ud. había reflejado
nosotros/as habíamos reflejado
vosotros/as habíais reflejado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían reflejado

The pluperfect describes an event that happened before another past event. For reflejarse, the yo form is había reflejado, as in “La imagen se había reflejado en el espejo.” — “The image had been reflected in the mirror.”

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré reflejado
tú habrás reflejado
él/ella/Ud. habrá reflejado
nosotros/as habremos reflejado
vosotros/as habréis reflejado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán reflejado

The future perfect describes something that will already be finished by a future moment. For reflejarse, the yo form is habré reflejado, as in “La imagen se habrá reflejado en el espejo.” — “The image will have been reflected in the mirror.”

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría reflejado
tú habrías reflejado
él/ella/Ud. habría reflejado
nosotros/as habríamos reflejado
vosotros/as habríais reflejado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían reflejado

The conditional perfect describes what would have happened under different conditions. For reflejarse, the yo form is habría reflejado, as in “La imagen se habría reflejado en el espejo.” — “The image would have been reflected in the mirror.”

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo refleje
tú reflejes
él/ella/Ud. refleje
nosotros/as reflejemos
vosotros/as reflejéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejen

The present subjunctive is used after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and influence. For reflejarse, the yo form is refleje, as in “Espero que la imagen se refleje en el espejo.” — “I hope that the image is reflected in the mirror.”

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra)

Person Form
yo reflejara
tú reflejaras
él/ella/Ud. reflejara
nosotros/as reflejáramos
vosotros/as reflejarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. reflejaran

The imperfect subjunctive is used in the past versions of subjunctive clauses, and after "si" in hypothetical sentences. For reflejarse, the yo form is reflejara, as in “Si la imagen se reflejara en el espejo, ...” — “If The image was reflected in the mirror, ...”

The -se variant of this tense follows the same pattern with -se instead of -ra: reflejara becomes reflejase, and the same change applies to every person. Both variants mean the same thing; -ra is more common in everyday speech.

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Form
tú refleja
Ud. refleje
nosotros/as reflejemos
vosotros/as reflejad
Uds. reflejen

Imperative (negative)

Person Form
tú reflejes
Ud. refleje
nosotros/as reflejemos
vosotros/as reflejéis
Uds. reflejen

The imperative is for orders, requests and advice. The affirmative tú form is refleja, as in “No te reflejes en el espejo” — “Do not be reflected in the mirror” For the negative imperative, Spanish uses the subjunctive forms: no reflejes. Note that the affirmative and negative forms differ, so check the table above before you give an order with reflejarse.

Example sentences

Here are ten sentences with reflejarse, covering different tenses and persons. Read each one out loud, then read the translation, and notice how the verb form changes while the meaning stays the same.

  1. “La imagen se refleja en el espejo cada día.” — “The image is reflected in the mirror.”
  2. “La imagen se refleja en el espejo todos los días.” — “The image is reflected in the mirror.”
  3. “La imagen se reflejó en el espejo ayer.” — “The image was reflected in the mirror.”
  4. “La imagen se reflejó en el espejo ayer.” — “The image was reflected in the mirror.”
  5. “La imagen se reflejaba en el espejo cuando era joven.” — “The image used to be reflected in the mirror.”
  6. “La imagen se reflejará en el espejo mañana.” — “The image will be reflected in the mirror.”
  7. “Si pudiera, la imagen se reflejaría en el espejo.” — “If I could, the image would be reflected in the mirror.”
  8. “La imagen se ha reflejado en el espejo hoy.” — “The image has been reflected in the mirror.”
  9. “Espero que la imagen se refleje en el espejo.” — “I hope that the image is reflected in the mirror.”
  10. “La imagen está reflejando en el espejo ahora mismo.” — “The image is being reflected in the mirror.”

Common mistakes

Forgetting the accent in the preterite

The yo preterite form is reflejé, with an accent on the stressed vowel. Writing it without the accent — refleje — is a spelling error, and in speech the stress lands in the wrong place. Preterite yo forms that end in a vowel carry that accent, so check it every time you write the preterite of reflejarse.

Mixing up present and preterite nosotros

For reflejarse, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite: reflejamos. Only the context tells you which tense is meant, so pay attention to the time words around it — cada día points to the present, ayer points to the preterite. Do not invent a different form for one of the tenses.

Dropping the reflexive pronoun

Because reflejarse is reflexive, it always needs its pronoun: yo me reflejo en el espejo, not yo reflejo en el espejo. Without me, the sentence either means something else or means nothing at all. The pronouns are me, te, se, nos, os, se — learn them with the verb, not as an afterthought.

Using ser instead of haber in perfect tenses

Spanish perfect tenses always use haber, never ser: yo he reflejado en el espejo. English speakers sometimes reach for soy because English uses to be in some passives, but soy reflejado is not the present perfect of reflejarse — it is a passive construction with a different meaning.

Confusing reflejarse with reflexionar

reflejarse and reflexionar look similar, and learners mix them up. They are different verbs with different meanings, so check which one the sentence needs before you conjugate. If you can substitute the English meaning of reflejarse — be reflected — the sentence needs reflejarse; if it needs the meaning of reflexionar, use that verb instead.

Using the indicative after "espero que"

After espero que (I hope that), Spanish needs the subjunctive: Espero que yo refleje en el espejo. Using the indicative — Espero que yo reflejo — is one of the most frequent learner errors with reflejarse. Whenever the main clause expresses a wish, doubt or emotion, switch to the subjunctive.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the best answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the yo form of reflejarse in the present?

  • A. reflejas
  • B. refleja
  • C. reflejamos
  • D. reflejo

2. What is the tu form of reflejarse in the preterite?

  • A. reflejamos
  • B. reflejaste
  • C. reflejé
  • D. reflejó

3. What is the el form of reflejarse in the imperfect?

  • A. reflejabas
  • B. reflejábamos
  • C. reflejabais
  • D. reflejaba

4. What is the nosotros form of reflejarse in the future?

  • A. reflejará
  • B. reflejaremos
  • C. reflejaré
  • D. reflejarás

5. What is the vosotros form of reflejarse in the present perfect?

  • A. he reflejado
  • B. has reflejado
  • C. ha reflejado
  • D. habéis reflejado

6. What is the ellos form of reflejarse in the present subjunctive?

  • A. refleje
  • B. reflejen
  • C. refleje
  • D. reflejes

7. What is the yo form of reflejarse in the preterite?

  • A. reflejaste
  • B. reflejó
  • C. reflejamos
  • D. reflejé

8. What is the tu form of reflejarse in the imperfect?

  • A. reflejábamos
  • B. reflejabas
  • C. reflejaba
  • D. reflejaba

9. What is the el form of reflejarse in the future?

  • A. reflejaré
  • B. reflejarás
  • C. reflejaremos
  • D. reflejará

10. What is the nosotros form of reflejarse in the conditional?

  • A. reflejaría
  • B. reflejaríamos
  • C. reflejaría
  • D. reflejarías

Answer key

  1. reflejo — The present table gives yo = reflejo.
  2. reflejaste — The preterite table gives tu = reflejaste.
  3. reflejaba — The imperfect table gives el = reflejaba.
  4. reflejaremos — The future table gives nosotros = reflejaremos.
  5. habéis reflejado — The present perfect table gives vosotros = habéis reflejado.
  6. reflejen — The present subjunctive table gives ellos = reflejen.
  7. reflejé — The preterite table gives yo = reflejé.
  8. reflejabas — The imperfect table gives tu = reflejabas.
  9. reflejará — The future table gives el = reflejará.
  10. reflejaríamos — The conditional table gives nosotros = reflejaríamos.

Frequently asked questions

Is reflejarse regular or irregular?

reflejarse is a reflexive -ar verb. It follows the regular patterns for its ending in every tense. The tables on this page show the correct form for every person, so use them rather than guessing.

What is the past participle of reflejarse?

The past participle of reflejarse is reflejado. You use it with haber in the perfect tenses — he reflejado, había reflejado, habré reflejado — and after estar in passive-style descriptions. It is the regular participle for its verb class. Learn it together with the gerund reflejando and you have the two non-finite forms covered.

What is the gerund of reflejarse?

The gerund of reflejarse is reflejando. You use it with estar to describe an action in progress, as in estoy reflejando, and after verbs such as seguir and ir. Keep it distinct from the past participle reflejado, which belongs with haber, not with estar.

What is the yo form of reflejarse in the present?

The yo form is reflejo — “La imagen se refleja en el espejo.” means “The image is reflected in the mirror.” That is the form you will use most often when you talk about yourself. For other persons, use the present table above: tú reflejas, él refleja, nosotros reflejamos, ellos reflejan.

What is the difference between reflejarse and reflexionar?

reflejarse means “to be reflected”, while reflexionar means “to reflect”. They share letters and sometimes a root, but they are different verbs. If your sentence means “to be reflected”, use reflejarse; if it is about the meaning of reflexionar, use reflexionar instead. Checking the English meaning first prevents most mix-ups.

Do I always need the pronoun with reflejarse?

Yes. reflejarse is reflexive, so the pronoun is part of the verb: me, te, se, nos, os, se. You say yo me reflejo, tú te reflejas, él se refleja. Leaving the pronoun out changes the meaning or makes the sentence wrong, so learn the pronoun together with each form.

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