просыпаться vs проснуться
prosypatsya vs prosnutsya — wake up habitually/in progress vs wake up once
Register: neutral
What it really means
Просыпаться is imperfective for waking up as a habit or process. Проснуться is perfective for one completed awakening. Both are intransitive/reflexive: the sleeper wakes up; use разбудить when one person wakes someone else.
Examples in natural speech
Я просыпаюсь в семь.
I wake up at seven.
Ребёнок часто просыпается ночью.
The child often wakes up at night.
Я проснулся от шума.
I woke up because of the noise.
Проснись, уже поздно.
Wake up, it is already late.
Она только что проснулась.
She just woke up.
Common mistakes
Do not use these verbs for waking another person. “Я разбудил его” means “I woke him up”; “он проснулся” means “he woke up.”
Memory tip
The -ся verb happens to the sleeper; разбудить has an agent.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between просыпаться and проснуться?
Просыпаться is habitual or ongoing waking; проснуться is one completed awakening.
How do you say wake up!?
Say “Проснись!” to one person or “Проснитесь!” politely or to several people.
How do I say wake someone up?
Use разбудить: “Разбуди меня в семь.”
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