Kilo Lingo

Spanish · Chapter 32 · Lesson 14 · Grammar primer

Reciprocal verbs: se quieren (each other)

How Spanish says 'each other' with the plural reflexives nos / os / se, telling it apart from the reflexive 'themselves', and forcing the reading with el uno al otro or mutuamente.

The short version

There is no Spanish word for each other

The reciprocal meaning lives in the plural reflexive pronoun plus a plural subject, not in an extra phrase: nos ayudamos, se quieren, os conocéis. When 'themselves' and 'each other' would genuinely mean different things, pin it down with el uno al otro or mutuamente, and use a sí mismos to force the reflexive reading instead.

Se ayudan el uno al otro.

They help one another.

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Lesson 14 of 23 in this chapter

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