sjálfur

Self (Sjálfur)

Level 3

sjálfur means -self: Ég gerði það sjálf (I did it myself), Hann talar við sjálfan sig (He talks to himself).

How It Works

By yourself. sjálfur agrees with the subject, so the speaker's gender shows:

  • A woman: Ég gerði það sjálf.
  • A man: Ég gerði það sjálfur.
  • Children: Börnin bjuggu til matinn sjálf. (neuter plural)

In person, itself. After a noun, sjálfur stresses that exact person or thing:

  • Kennarinn kom sjálfur á fundinn. (The teacher came to the meeting himself.)
  • Borgin sjálf er ekki stór. (The city itself isn't big.)

With sig. The reflexive pronoun sig/sér/sín is the object himself/herself. Adding sjálfur in front makes it stronger. Both words take the same case:

  • Hann talar við sjálfan sig. (accusative)
  • Hún gaf sjálfri sér blóm. (dative: She gave herself flowers.)

sjálfur alone cannot be the object. Say Hann sá sig í speglinum or Hann sá sjálfan sig í speglinum.

The forms follow the strong adjective declension:

  • masculine: sjálfur, sjálfan, sjálfum, sjálfs
  • feminine: sjálf, sjálfa, sjálfri, sjálfrar
  • neuter: sjálft, sjálft, sjálfu, sjálfs
  • plural: sjálfir, sjálfar, sjálf; dative sjálfum; genitive sjálfra

Examples (6)

  1. Ég gerði það sjálf.

    I did it myself.

    Word by Word: I did it self.

    A woman is speaking. A man would say sjálfur.

  2. Hann talar við sjálfan sig.

    He talks to himself.

    Word by Word: He talks with self himself.

  3. Viltu gera þetta sjálfur?

    Do you want to do this yourself?

    Word by Word: Want-you do this self?

  4. Kennarinn kom sjálfur á fundinn.

    The teacher came to the meeting himself.

    Word by Word: The-teacher came self to the-meeting.

  5. Borgin sjálf er ekki stór.

    The city itself isn't big.

    Word by Word: The-city self is not big.

  6. Börnin bjuggu til matinn sjálf.

    The children made the food themselves.

    Word by Word: The-children made the-food selves.

    börn is neuter plural, so sjálfur becomes sjálf.

Common Mistakes

  • Not making sjálfur agree with the speaker (here, a woman talking about herself).

    Ég gerði það sjálfur.
    Ég gerði það sjálf.

    sjálfur is masculine. A woman uses the feminine form sjálf about herself.

  • Leaving sjálfur in the nominative next to sig.

    Hann talar við sjálfur sig.
    Hann talar við sjálfan sig.

    við takes the accusative, and sjálfur must match sig: sjálfan sig.

  • Using sjálfur alone as the object "himself".

    Hann sá sjálfan í speglinum.
    Hann sá sig í speglinum.

    The object is sig. You can add sjálfan for emphasis: Hann sá sjálfan sig í speglinum.

How It Connects

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

sjálfurLevel 3Self (Sjálfur)

Learn This First

sjálfur builds on sig and strong adjectives.

Words in This Pattern

sjálfursig