Se laver Conjugation in French
se laver means “to wash oneself” in English, and it is one of the verbs French learners meet early — it sits at frequency rank 141 in VerbFlow’s French list. It is a reflexive, regular -er verb, and this page gives you its complete conjugation — every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Je me lave les mains tous les jours.” — “I wash my hands every day.”
Quick facts
- Infinitive: se laver
- English: to wash oneself
- Verb type: Reflexive, Regular
- Irregular in: no tense — fully regular
- Gerund: en lavant
- Past participle: lavé
- Auxiliary: être (all perfect tenses are formed with être + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for se laver, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for se laver. Learn the present tense first, then the passé composé and the imperfect, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lave |
| tu | laves |
| il/elle | lave |
| nous | lavons |
| vous | lavez |
| ils/elles | lavent |
Passé simple
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lavai |
| tu | lavas |
| il/elle | lava |
| nous | lavâmes |
| vous | lavâtes |
| ils/elles | lavèrent |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lavais |
| tu | lavais |
| il/elle | lavait |
| nous | lavions |
| vous | laviez |
| ils/elles | lavaient |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | laverai |
| tu | laveras |
| il/elle | lavera |
| nous | laverons |
| vous | laverez |
| ils/elles | laveront |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | laverais |
| tu | laverais |
| il/elle | laverait |
| nous | laverions |
| vous | laveriez |
| ils/elles | laveraient |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | suis lavé |
| tu | es lavé |
| il/elle | est lavé |
| nous | sommes lavé |
| vous | êtes lavé |
| ils/elles | sont lavé |
Pluperfect (past perfect)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | étais lavé |
| tu | étais lavé |
| il/elle | était lavé |
| nous | étions lavé |
| vous | étiez lavé |
| ils/elles | étaient lavé |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serai lavé |
| tu | seras lavé |
| il/elle | sera lavé |
| nous | serons lavé |
| vous | serez lavé |
| ils/elles | seront lavé |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | serais lavé |
| tu | serais lavé |
| il/elle | serait lavé |
| nous | serions lavé |
| vous | seriez lavé |
| ils/elles | seraient lavé |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lave |
| tu | laves |
| il/elle | lave |
| nous | lavions |
| vous | laviez |
| ils/elles | lavent |
Imperfect subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| je | lavasse |
| tu | lavasses |
| il/elle | lavât |
| nous | lavassions |
| vous | lavassiez |
| ils/elles | lavassent |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | lave |
| nous | lavons |
| vous | lavez |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tu | lave |
| nous | lavons |
| vous | lavez |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | French |
|---|---|
| Gerund | en lavant |
| Past participle | lavé |
When to use each tense
Present indicative
The present indicative is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Je me lave les mains tous les jours.” — “I wash my hands every day.”
Passé simple
The passé simple is used for completed actions in the past, mainly in written and literary French. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu te lavas les mains la semaine dernière.” — “You washed your hands last week.”
Imperfect
The imperfect is used for ongoing or habitual actions in the past, and for background description. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il se lavait les mains ce matin.” — “He used to wash his hands this morning.”
Future
The future is used for what will happen, and for predictions. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Nous nous laverons les mains.” — “We will wash our hands.”
Conditional
The conditional is used for what would happen, for polite requests and for hypothetical situations. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Vous vous laveriez les mains.” — “You would wash your hands.”
Present perfect
The present perfect (passé composé) is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken French. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ils se sont lavé les mains hier.” — “They have washed their hands yesterday.”
Pluperfect (past perfect)
The pluperfect (past perfect) is used for an action completed before another past action. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Je m'étais lavé les mains hier.” — “I had washed my hands yesterday.”
Future perfect
The future perfect is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Tu te seras lavé les mains la semaine prochaine.” — “You will have washed your hands next week.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il se serait lavé les mains ce matin.” — “He would have washed his hands this morning.”
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive is used for wishes, doubts, emotions and opinions after que. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il est important que nous nous lavions les mains tous les jours.” — “It is important that We wash our hands every day.”
Imperfect subjunctive
The imperfect subjunctive is used for the past subjunctive: wishes and hypotheticals about the past, mostly in formal and literary French. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Il fallait que vous vous lavassiez les mains hier.” — “It was necessary that You wash your hands yesterday.”
Imperative (affirmative)
The imperative (affirmative) is used for direct commands and instructions. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Lavez-vous les mains !” — “Wash your hands!”
Imperative (negative)
The imperative (negative) is used for prohibitions and negative commands. With se laver this tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard -er pattern. For example: “Ne te lave pas les mains !” — “Do not wash your hands!”
Gerund and past participle
The gerund en lavant is used after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. For example: “En me lavant, je commence la journée.” — “While washing myself, I start the day.” The past participle lavé is used with être in the perfect tenses, as in je me suis lavé — “I have washed my hands yesterday.”
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with se laver, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the French and try to produce it from the English.
- “Je me lave les mains à la maison.” — “I wash my hands at home.”
- “Tu te lavas les mains ce matin.” — “You washed your hands this morning.”
- “Il se lavait les mains avec Paul.” — “He used to wash his hands with Paul.”
- “Je me laverai les mains demain.” — “I will wash my hands tomorrow.”
- “Tu te laverais les mains tous les jours.” — “You would wash your hands every day.”
- “Il s'est lavé les mains la semaine dernière.” — “He has washed his hands last week.”
- “Je m'étais lavé les mains ce matin.” — “I had washed my hands this morning.”
- “Tu te seras lavé les mains demain.” — “You will have washed your hands tomorrow.”
- “Il est important que il se lave les mains tous les jours.” — “It is important that He wash his hands every day.”
- “Lave-toi les mains !” — “Wash your hands!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Je se laver les mains.”
✓ Right: “Je me lave les mains tous les jours.”
The infinitive se laver never takes a subject. After je you need the conjugated present form lave.
2. Using the wrong person
✗ Wrong: “Je me laves les mains.”
✓ Right: “Je me lave les mains tous les jours.”
laves is the tu form, not the je form. The je form is lave — check the person before you write the form.
3. Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Je me lave les mains hier.”
✓ Right: “Je me suis lavé les mains hier.”
Hier points to the past, so use the present perfect suis lavé here, not the present lave.
4. Mixing up the stem in the stressed forms
✗ Wrong: “Je me lavons les mains.”
✓ Right: “Je me lave les mains tous les jours.”
lavons is the nous form. The je form is lave — the two persons never share a form in the present of se laver.
5. Forgetting the reflexive pronoun
✗ Wrong: “Je lave les mains.”
✓ Right: “Je me lave les mains tous les jours.”
se laver is reflexive: the pronoun me belongs before the verb — je me lave. Without it the sentence means something else entirely.
6. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger
✗ Wrong: “Il est important que nous lavons les mains.”
✓ Right: “Il est important que nous lavions les mains.”
After il est important que French needs the subjunctive, so use lavions here, not the indicative lavons.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on se laver. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
What is the je form of se laver in the Present indicative?
- A) lave
- B) lavons
- C) serai lavé
- D) étais lavé
What is the il/elle form of se laver in the Passé simple?
- A) laverait
- B) serait lavé
- C) lava
- D) lavât
What is the nous form of se laver in the Imperfect?
- A) lavons
- B) laverons
- C) lavais
- D) lavions
What is the tu form of se laver in the Future?
- A) serais lavé
- B) laveras
- C) laves
- D) étais lavé
What is the je form of se laver in the Conditional?
- A) laverai
- B) laverais
- C) lavais
- D) laverions
What is the il/elle form of se laver in the Present subjunctive?
- A) lavât
- B) laves
- C) lavait
- D) lave
What is the nous form of se laver in the Present perfect (passé composé)?
- A) lavâmes
- B) serons lavé
- C) sommes lavé
- D) serions lavé
What is the gerund of se laver?
- A) en lavant
- B) acceptant
- C) peignant
- D) analysant
What is the past participle of se laver?
- A) amélioré
- B) assisté
- C) commenté
- D) lavé
What does se laver mean in English?
- A) change
- B) load
- C) wash
- D) cut
Answer key
- A) lave — the je form of se laver in the present indicative is lave. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) lava — the il/elle form of se laver in the passé simple is lava. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) lavions — the nous form of se laver in the imperfect is lavions. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) laveras — the tu form of se laver in the future is laveras. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- B) laverais — the je form of se laver in the conditional is laverais. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- D) lave — the il/elle form of se laver in the present subjunctive is lave. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- C) sommes lavé — the nous form of se laver in the present perfect (passé composé) is sommes lavé. The other options are forms of the same verb for different persons or tenses.
- A) en lavant — the gerund of se laver is en lavant; it is used with en for actions happening at the same time as the main verb. The other options are the present participles of neighbouring verbs.
- D) lavé — the past participle of se laver is lavé; perfect tenses use être + lavé. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) wash — se laver means “to wash” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
How to learn this verb
Learn se laver in three passes. First, say the present tense aloud in order — je me lave, tu te laves, il se lave, nous nous lavons, vous vous lavez, ils se lavent — three times, then write three sentences with the verb. Second, learn the passé composé with its auxiliary: suis lavé shows the pattern, and the participle lavé is the same in every perfect tense. Third, add one new tense a day, always in a sentence, and test yourself the next day before you learn the next one. A verb you can use in a sentence is learnt; a verb you can only recite is not. Use the Verb Quiz and the Verb Conjugator to check what has stuck, and compare se laver with the other verbs in this batch on the French verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
What does se laver mean in English?
se laver means “to wash oneself”. It is a reflexive, regular verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is se laver regular or irregular?
se laver is regular, and it is irregular in these tenses: none. se laver is regular: every form follows the standard -er endings, so once you know the pattern you can build every tense from the stem. There are no surprises in any tense — the tables below are exactly what the endings predict.
What are the gerund and past participle of se laver?
The gerund is en lavant — use it after en for an action happening at the same time as the main verb. The past participle is lavé — use it with être for the perfect tenses, as in je me suis lavé.
How do I say “I wash” in French?
Say “Je me lave les mains tous les jours.” — “I wash my hands every day.” The je form of the present is lave, and it is the form you will use most often.
How do you pronounce se laver?
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for se laver, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- se laver in the present tense
- se laver examples and quiz
- Se préparer conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- Arranger conjugation — another French verb in this batch.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- French irregular verbs — every common irregular French verb, grouped by pattern.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- Conjugation Chart Printer — practise se laver with the interactive tool.
- Conditional Helper — practise se laver with the interactive tool.
- Verb Conjugator — practise se laver with the interactive tool.