-self

Myself, Yourself: -self

Level 2

Add -self to an object pronoun to stress myself, himself and so on: Hy praat met homself. (He talks to himself.) Self alone means in person: Ek het dit self gedoen.

How It Works

1. The forms. Add -self to the object pronoun:

  • myself, jouself, uself
  • homself, haarself
  • onsself (with three s), julleself, hulleself

2. After a preposition. Here -self makes the meaning clear. Hy praat met homself means he talks to himself, while Hy praat met hom means he talks to another man. In the same way: Sy dink net aan haarself, Sorg vir jouself.

3. For emphasis. Use -self to stress who the action points back to: Ons het onsself in die spieël gesien. (We saw ourselves in the mirror.)

4. Plain reflexive verbs. Verbs that always take a reflexive pronoun normally use the plain form: Ek haas my, Ek bekommer my. Careful Afrikaans usage avoids adding -self where the plain pronoun already does the job, because that use copies English.

5. Self on its own. Standing on its own, self means personally, with nobody else's help: Ek het dit self gedoen. (I did it myself.) Die kinders het die kaartjies self gemaak. (The children made the cards themselves.)

Examples (6)

  1. Hy praat met homself.

    He is talking to himself.

    Word by Word: He talks with himself.

    After a preposition, homself makes clear that he talks to himself, not to someone else.

  2. Sy dink net aan haarself.

    She only thinks about herself.

    Word by Word: She thinks only of herself.

  3. Ek het dit self gedoen.

    I did it myself.

    Word by Word: I have it self done.

    Self on its own means personally, without help.

  4. Jy moet ook vir jouself sorg.

    You also need to look after yourself.

    Word by Word: You must also for yourself care.

  5. Ons het onsself in die spieël gesien.

    We saw ourselves in the mirror.

    Word by Word: We have ourselves in the mirror seen.

  6. Die kinders het die kaartjies self gemaak.

    The children made the cards themselves.

    Word by Word: The children have the cards self made.

Common Mistakes

  • Using myself for in person.

    Ek het dit myself gedoen.
    Ek het dit self gedoen.

    To say you did something without help, Afrikaans uses self on its own, not myself.

  • Using the plain pronoun after a preposition for himself.

    Hy praat met hom.
    Hy praat met homself.

    After a preposition, hom points to another man. Homself shows that he is talking to himself.

  • Spelling onsself with two s.

    Ons moet vir onself sorg.
    Ons moet vir onsself sorg.

    The form is ons + self, so it is written with three s: onsself.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-selfLevel 2Myself, Yourself: -self

Learn This First

The -self forms add emphasis to reflexive and personal pronouns.

Words in This Pattern

selfmyselfjouselfhomselfhaarselfonsselfhulleself