себе

The reflexive pronoun себе is a unique part of Ukrainian grammar. Here are its key characteristics:

• Universal Person, Gender, and Number: It does not change for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person, nor for gender or plural subjects. Я бачу себе (I see myself) and Вони бачать себе (They see themselves) use the exact same word.
• No Nominative: Because a reflexive action requires a subject to act upon itself, себе can never be the subject. It has no Nominative form.
• Declension: It declines like the pronoun ти. The forms are: себе (Genitive/Accusative), собі (Dative) / (на/у/при) собі (Locative), and собою (Instrumental). Note that the Locative case is always used with a preposition.
• Stress Shift: When the Genitive/Accusative form себе is used without a preposition, the stress falls on the second syllable (себЕ). However, after a preposition, the stress shifts to the first syllable (сЕбе), e.g., до сЕбе. Note that this shift does not apply to the other forms; the stress remains on the second syllable for собі and собою even after prepositions (e.g., на собІ, із собОю).
• Logical Subject Coreference: In Ukrainian, себе refers back to the logical subject of the action. This is usually the grammatical subject, but it can also be a Dative subject in impersonal sentences (e.g., Мені шкода себе - I feel sorry for myself) or the actor of an infinitive (e.g., Я попросив його налити собі чаю - I asked him to pour himself some tea). Unlike in English, where you might say 'Give it to John and myself', in Ukrainian you must use the personal pronoun if you are not the logical subject (e.g., Дайте це Джону і мені, never себе).
• Pairing with сам: себе is often paired with the emphatic pronoun сам for emphasis. While себе never changes for gender or number, сам must agree with the subject in gender and number, and with себе in case. For example: Вона робить це для самої себе (She does it for herself, where самої is Genitive feminine to match себе and the subject).
• Not for 'Each Other': себе is strictly reflexive, not reciprocal. It cannot mean 'each other'. For example, Вони бачать себе means 'They see themselves' (their own reflections). To say 'They see each other', you must use the reciprocal pronoun один одного.
• Ethic Dative: The form собі is often used as a particle to mean 'to oneself' or 'for one's own pleasure' (e.g., сиджу собі - I'm just sitting here).
• Contrast with -ся: While the suffix -ся is for routine reflexive verbs, себе is used when the 'self' is a distinct object or follows a preposition. Using the full pronoun for direct reflexive actions (e.g., saying Я мию себе instead of Я миюся - I wash myself) sounds unnatural unless used for specific emphasis or contrast (e.g., Я мию себе, а не собаку - I am washing myself, not the dog).
• Contrast with свій: Do not confuse себе (which acts as an object, like 'myself') with the possessive reflexive pronoun свій (which indicates possession, like 'my own').
• Common Set Phrases: себе appears in many frequent idioms, such as почувати себе (to feel [well/bad]), брати на себе (to take upon oneself), само собою (it goes without saying / by itself), про себе (silently / to oneself), сам по собі (by itself / on its own), уявляти собі (to imagine), and не по собі (feeling uneasy/uncomfortable).