relajarse
verbCEFR B1
What does “relajarse” mean in English?
to relax
to relax (process); reflexive; estar relajado/a (resultative state); técnicas de relajación; contrast: descansar (rest by stopping activity)
Example sentences
El médico le recomendó que intentara relajarse antes de dormir — apagando el móvil y siguiendo una rutina fija — para que el insomnio que llevaba meses sufriendo fuera disminuyendo.
The doctor recommended he try to relax before sleeping — by turning off his phone and following a fixed routine — so that the insomnia he had been suffering for months would gradually reduce.
Desde que empezó a practicar yoga dos veces a la semana, está mucho más relajada y ha notado que los dolores de cabeza que tenía constantemente casi han desaparecido.
Since she started practising yoga twice a week, she has been much more relaxed and has noticed that the headaches she used to have constantly have almost disappeared.
How to use it
Relajarse means 'to relax' and is always reflexive: me relajo, te relajas, se relaja. The resultative state is estar relajado/a. The noun is la relajación (formal) or el relax (informal borrowing). Common collocations in health contexts: técnicas de relajación, aprender a relajarse, necesitar relajarse. Distinguish from descansar (to rest — physical, implies stopping activity) and dormir (to sleep). Relajarse implies active mental or physical unwinding.
Common mistake
The reflexive pronoun cannot be dropped: *relajo* without me/te/se is ungrammatical in this sense. Relajate (imperative tú form) does not carry a written accent — contrast relajate with the regular rule. Do not confuse with descansar (physical rest by stopping) — relajarse implies active mental unwinding.