A reflexive verb has a small pronoun in front of it that points back to the subject: me, te, se, nous, vous, se. They are very common for daily routine: se réveiller, se lever, se laver, s'habiller, se coucher. Je me lève is literally 'I raise myself', and means 'I get up'.

The pronoun matches the subject: je me, tu te, il/elle se, nous nous, vous vous, ils/elles se. Before a vowel or a silent h it becomes m', t', s': je m'habille, elle s'habille. The rest of the verb follows normal -er endings. Note that se lever adds an accent in the singular and in the ils form: je me lève, tu te lèves, nous nous levons.

English uses plain verbs for these ideas ('I get up', 'I wash'), so it is easy to forget the pronoun. Say je me lève, never je lève (which would mean 'I lift something'). The same verb without se does something to another person or object: Je lave la voiture.