bere burua
Oneself: Bere Burua
Myself is neure burua, yourself is zeure burua, himself or herself is bere burua. The verb treats these like any third-person thing: neure burua ikusi dut (I have seen myself).
How It Works
1. The forms.
- nik (I): neure burua (myself)
- zuk (you): zeure burua (yourself)
- hark (he, she): bere burua (himself, herself)
- guk (we): geure burua (ourselves)
- zuek (you all): zeuen burua (yourselves)
- haiek (they): beren burua or euren burua (themselves)
These use the emphatic possessives neure, zeure, geure, zeuen (see neu and zeu). Standard Basque uses these forms for "myself, yourself, ourselves": neure burua rather than nire burua. You will often hear and read nire burua or zure burua too, but the emphatic forms are the ones to learn.
2. bere for the third person. bere always points back to the subject: Mirenek bere burua zaintzen badaki. (Miren knows how to take care of herself.) With a plural subject, beren or euren is clearer. See bere and haren.
3. Plural subjects. The singular burua is the most common, but buruak is also allowed: geure burua or geure buruak (ourselves).
4. The auxiliary. burua is grammatically "it", so the verb uses dut, duzu, du: Neure burua ikusi dut. When it is a receiver with -(r)i, use diot, dio: Neure buruari galdetzen diot. (I ask myself.)
5. Other endings. burua takes any case: bere buruari (to himself), bere buruarekin (with himself), bere buruaz (about himself).
Tip: A few everyday verbs such as garbitu (wash) and orraztu (comb) can simply use naiz: Garbitu naiz. (I have washed.) For most verbs, use burua.
Examples (6)
- Ispiluan bere burua ikusi du.
He has seen himself in the mirror.
It can also mean "She has seen herself". The auxiliary is du because burua counts as "it".
- Zaindu zeure burua!
Take care of yourself!
zuk → zeure burua. You will also hear zure burua, but the standard form is zeure burua.
- Neure buruari galdetzen diot.
I ask myself.
buruari is a receiver with -(r)i, so the auxiliary is diot.
- Mirenek bere burua zaintzen badaki.
Miren knows how to take care of herself.
- Jonek bere buruari hitz egiten dio sarri.
Jon often talks to himself.
- Ikasleek beren burua aurkeztu dute.
The students have introduced themselves.
With a plural subject, beren (or euren) is clearer than bere.
Common Mistakes
Using a plain pronoun for "myself".
Ispiluan ni ikusi dut.Ispiluan neure burua ikusi dut.ni cannot point back to the subject, and dut does not agree with ni. Use neure burua.
Making the auxiliary agree with the person.
Ispiluan neure burua ikusi naut.Ispiluan neure burua ikusi dut.burua is grammatically a third-person noun, so the auxiliary is dut, not naut (he has seen me).
Using bere with I or you.
Nik bere burua zaintzen dut.Nik neure burua zaintzen dut.bere only points back to a third-person subject. With nik, use neure.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The reflexive follows bere and haren.
Related Patterns
- elkarEach Other: Elkar
elkar (each other) is the reciprocal partner of the reflexive and also counts as third person.
Level 3 - neu / zeuMyself, Yourself: Neu, Zeu
neure and zeure come from the emphatic pronouns neu and zeu.
Level 5 - nire / zure / haren / gure / zuen / haienPossessive Pronouns
The ordinary possessives. In the reflexive, standard Basque uses their emphatic forms: neure burua, zeure burua.
Level 1 - ukan: dut / duzu / duThe Verb to Have (Dut, Duzu, Du)
The auxiliary used when burua is the object.
Level 1 - diot / dizut / ditGiving and Telling
The auxiliary used when buruari is the receiver.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice bere burua in Bubblegum
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