Himself in Different Languages
Discover 'Himself' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'himself' is a reflexive pronoun, often used to indicate that the subject of a sentence is performing an action on themselves. It's a small word, but one that carries great significance in the English language. 'Himself' is a term that speaks to agency, self-reliance, and personal responsibility.
Throughout history, the concept of 'himself' has been explored in literature, philosophy, and culture. From Shakespeare's Hamlet, who famously said, 'I must be cruel only to be kind; I must punish only to save,' to the modern-day emphasis on self-care and personal growth, 'himself' is a word that resonates with people all over the world.
Understanding the translation of 'himself' in different languages can help us to better appreciate the cultural nuances and linguistic differences that make our world so diverse and fascinating. For example, in Spanish, 'himself' is 'sí mismo', while in French, it's 'lui-même'. In German, 'himself' is 'sich selbst', and in Japanese, it's 'じたselves' (jita-zimi).
In this article, we'll explore the many translations of 'himself' in different languages, shedding light on the cultural importance of this simple but powerful word. Whether you're a language enthusiast, a student of culture, or simply curious about the world around you, this article is sure to inspire and inform.
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Himself in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | homself | ||
| Homself refers to 'himself' in Afrikaans and is a compound word of 'hom' ('him') and 'self' ('self'). | |||
| Amharic | ራሱ | ||
| ራሱ (rasu) is ultimately derived from the Proto-Semitic root *rʔš, meaning head | |||
| Hausa | kansa | ||
| In the Songhai language, "kansa" means "friend". | |||
| Igbo | onwe ya | ||
| The Igbo word for "himself" is "onwe ya," which literally means "owner of himself". | |||
| Malagasy | mihitsy | ||
| The Malagasy word "mihitsy" can also refer to the concept of "selfhood" or "individuality". | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | iyemwini | ||
| The word "iyemwini" also has the alternate meaning of "himself". | |||
| Shona | iye pachake | ||
| The word "iye pachake" is also used to refer to a person's own property or possessions. | |||
| Somali | naftiisa | ||
| Some suggest "naftiisa" originally meant "his own body". | |||
| Sesotho | ka boeena | ||
| The word "ka boeena" is also used to refer to a male child or a young man. | |||
| Swahili | mwenyewe | ||
| The word 'mwenyewe' in Swahili can also mean 'owner' or 'possessor' | |||
| Xhosa | ngokwakhe | ||
| The word can also be translated as "in person" or "on his own". | |||
| Yoruba | funrararẹ | ||
| The Yoruba word "funrararẹ" can also be translated as "by himself" or "on his own". | |||
| Zulu | yena | ||
| 'Yena' shares an origin with 'mina' ('myself'), 'wena' ('yourself') and 'kweyethu' ('amongst ourselves'), stemming from the Bantu root *-we, with the pluralisation suffix *-na | |||
| Bambara | a yɛrɛ ye | ||
| Ewe | eya ŋutɔ | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ubwe | ||
| Lingala | ye moko | ||
| Luganda | ye kennyini | ||
| Sepedi | ka boyena | ||
| Twi (Akan) | ɔno ankasa | ||
Himself in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | نفسه | ||
| The Arabic word "نفسه" can also be interpreted as "its soul" or "its essence". | |||
| Hebrew | עַצמוֹ | ||
| עַצמוֹ - in addition to meaning "himself," this word also means "essence" or "self." | |||
| Pashto | ځان | ||
| The word "ځان" ("himself") in Pashto is derived from the Proto-Iranian root *ćah-, meaning "to protect" or "to save". | |||
| Arabic | نفسه | ||
| The Arabic word "نفسه" can also be interpreted as "its soul" or "its essence". | |||
Himself in Western European Languages
| Albanian | vetveten | ||
| "Vetveten" is the combination of "vetës" (himself) and either "vet" (self) or "ve" (own). | |||
| Basque | berak | ||
| The Basque word "berak" comes from the Proto-Basque word *berak, which means "he" or "she." | |||
| Catalan | a si mateix | ||
| The phrase "a si mateix" literally translates to "to him self". | |||
| Croatian | sam | ||
| The name "Samo" is a masculine personal name, and also the root for the possessive pronoun "sam" in Croatian. | |||
| Danish | ham selv | ||
| "Ham selv" is a compound word, consisting of "ham" (skin) and "selv" (self), thus originally meaning "own skin". | |||
| Dutch | zichzelf | ||
| The word "zichzelf" in Dutch can also be used as a reflexive pronoun, meaning "oneself" or "itself". | |||
| English | himself | ||
| "Himself" is the reflexive pronoun form of "he", used to emphasize the subject or as an intensive pronoun. | |||
| French | lui-même | ||
| The word "lui-même" in French does not change if used with a feminine pronoun and also means "itself". | |||
| Frisian | himsels | ||
| In Saterland Frisian, "himsels" is sometimes also used to refer to the reflexive possessive pronoun "his own" with a masculine antecedent. | |||
| Galician | el mesmo | ||
| The word "el mesmo" in Galician can also be used to mean "the very same" or "the same thing." | |||
| German | selbst | ||
| The word "selbst" in German can also mean "self" or "essence". | |||
| Icelandic | sjálfur | ||
| Sjálfur is etymologically related to Sanskrit 'sva' and Avestan 'xva' meaning 'self'. | |||
| Irish | é féin | ||
| The Irish word 'é féin' can also mean 'of him/her/it,' 'his/her/its' or 'by him/her/it.' | |||
| Italian | lui stesso | ||
| The phrase "lui stesso" is also used to express "on his own" or "in person". | |||
| Luxembourgish | sech selwer | ||
| The word "sech selwer" derives from the Old High German language and originally meant "same soul." | |||
| Maltese | lilu nnifsu | ||
| The word "lilu nnifsu" is a compound word derived from "lilu" (him) and "nnifsu" (self) and is used to denote emphasis and singularity, similar to "himself" in English. | |||
| Norwegian | han selv | ||
| The Norwegian word "han selv" can also refer to "someone else's husband" in certain contexts. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ele mesmo | ||
| The word "ele mesmo" can also mean "the same" or "identical" in Portuguese. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | e fhèin | ||
| In addition to meaning "himself," "e fhèin" can also mean "on his own" or "by himself." | |||
| Spanish | él mismo | ||
| The Spanish word "él mismo" can also mean "the same", "very", or "in person". | |||
| Swedish | han själv | ||
| *Han själv* can also be used to translate the English word *itself*, referring to an animal or a neutral object. | |||
| Welsh | ei hun | ||
| The Welsh phrase "ei hun" is derived from the Old Welsh "ehun" and is cognate with the Irish "aon" and the Breton "eunn", all meaning "one." | |||
Himself in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | сам | ||
| It can be used to mean the subject of the sentence who does an action on themselves | |||
| Bosnian | sebe | ||
| Sebe also means 'to oneself' and is the dative form of the reflexive pronoun 'se', which can mean 'self' or 'oneself'. | |||
| Bulgarian | себе си | ||
| The word "себе си" can also be used as a reflexive pronoun, in which case it functions like "myself", "yourself", etc. | |||
| Czech | sám | ||
| Sám is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *sъmъ, which meant "alone" and was cognate with Latin "sum" ("I am") and Sanskrit "asmi" ("I am"). | |||
| Estonian | ise | ||
| The Estonian word "ise" derives from the Proto-Uralic word "*e̯kse" meaning "alone" and can also mean "self" or "same" | |||
| Finnish | hän itse | ||
| In Finnish, "hän itse" can also mean "he himself" or "she herself" depending on the context. | |||
| Hungarian | önmaga | ||
| The word "önmaga" is derived from the old Hungarian possessive suffix "-ma". It can also be used to refer to one's own essence or being. | |||
| Latvian | pats | ||
| In Latvian, the word "pats" can also mean "self" or "own". | |||
| Lithuanian | pats | ||
| The word "pats" in Lithuanian can also mean "self" or "it". | |||
| Macedonian | самиот | ||
| In Macedonian, the word "самиот" ("himself") is also used as a reflexive pronoun, meaning "oneself" or "himself, herself, or itself." | |||
| Polish | samego siebie | ||
| In Polish, the reflexive pronoun 'samego siebie' can also refer to a person's whole self, including their body, mind, and soul. | |||
| Romanian | se | ||
| "Se" in Romanian can mean "himself", "herself", "oneself", or "itself", and can also be used to form the passive voice. | |||
| Russian | сам | ||
| "Сам" can also mean "self" or "very" and is cognate with many other words for "self" in other Indo-European languages. | |||
| Serbian | себе | ||
| The word "себе" has an additional meaning of "to himself" and can only be used in reflexive constructions. | |||
| Slovak | sám seba | ||
| Sám seba also means 'by oneself' in Slovak, which adds an extra layer of meaning to its usage. | |||
| Slovenian | sam | ||
| The word "sam" in Slovenian has an additional meaning of "alone" or "lonely". | |||
| Ukrainian | себе | ||
| "Себе" is the reflexive form of the pronoun "я" (I). | |||
Himself in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | নিজেই | ||
| The term 'নিজেই' can also mean 'by oneself' or 'independently' in Bengali. | |||
| Gujarati | પોતે | ||
| પોતે also means "the very own" in Gujarati and is mostly used to emphasize someone's own belongings or actions. | |||
| Hindi | स्वयं | ||
| The word 'स्वयं' ('himself' in Hindi) is derived from the Sanskrit word 'sva', meaning 'one's own', and 'ayam', meaning 'this', and can also be used to refer to 'the self'. | |||
| Kannada | ಸ್ವತಃ | ||
| In Kannada, the word "ಸ್ವತಃ" can also mean "itself" or "of one's own accord". | |||
| Malayalam | സ്വയം | ||
| The word "स्वयम" can either be used reflexively or for emphasis in Malayalam. | |||
| Marathi | स्वतः | ||
| स्वतः does not only mean 'himself' but also 'automatically', 'spontaneously', and 'independently'. | |||
| Nepali | आफैलाई | ||
| आफैलाई comes from the Nepali word meaning "self" and can also refer to an individual's personal identity or individuality. | |||
| Punjabi | ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪ ਨੂੰ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | තමාම | ||
| "තමාම" in Sinhalese also contains a hint of "oneself" in its essence. | |||
| Tamil | தன்னை | ||
| "தன்னை" can also mean "oneself" or "itself" in Tamil. | |||
| Telugu | స్వయంగా | ||
| "స్వయంగా" is a Sanskrit compound word, derived from "स्व" (meaning "self") and "य" (meaning "to go"). | |||
| Urdu | خود | ||
| The word "خود" in Urdu derives from the Arabic word "نفس" which also means "soul", hence "auto" (self) in "autobiography" | |||
Himself in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 本人 | ||
| In traditional Chinese, "本人" also referred to "the emperor". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 本人 | ||
| The character 本 literally means 'root', implying the original, essential, or core aspect of something. | |||
| Japanese | 彼自身 | ||
| 彼自身 can also informally refer to a spouse. | |||
| Korean | 그 자신 | ||
| The word "그 자신" can have the same meaning as "자신" when used for emphasis or to avoid repetition. | |||
| Mongolian | өөрөө | ||
| The word "өөрөө" derives from the Mongolic root word *öber, which signifies 'separate' or 'lone' | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | သူ့ဟာသူ | ||
Himself in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | diri | ||
| In some parts of Indonesia "diri" can mean "you" in a formal or polite way. | |||
| Javanese | awake dhewe | ||
| The Javanese word "awake dhewe" has an additional meaning of "self-sufficient" or "independent." | |||
| Khmer | ខ្លួនគាត់ផ្ទាល់ | ||
| Lao | ຕົວເອງ | ||
| Malay | dirinya | ||
| The word "dirinya" is also used in other contexts with the following meanings: that, this, it. | |||
| Thai | ตัวเขาเอง | ||
| ตัวเขาเอง (tua khao eng) is a common reflexive pronoun in Thai, meaning "himself" or "herself." | |||
| Vietnamese | bản thân anh ấy | ||
| The literal translation of the Vietnamese word "bản thân anh ấy" ("himself") into English is "origin self". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kanyang sarili | ||
Himself in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | özü | ||
| Özü also means "essence" or "core" in Azerbaijani and is a cognate of the Turkish word "öz". | |||
| Kazakh | өзі | ||
| The word "өзі" in Kazakh can have meanings "himself", "itself", "oneself" and "on his/her/its own". | |||
| Kyrgyz | өзү | ||
| The word "өзү" in Kyrgyz can also refer to the "real" or "true" self. | |||
| Tajik | худаш | ||
| The word "худаш" in Tajik is derived from the Proto-Indo-Iranian root *h₂udʰo- meaning "self". It can also refer to "one's own" or "alone". | |||
| Turkmen | özi | ||
| Uzbek | o'zi | ||
| In Uzbek, "o'zi" can also refer to a person's soul or essence. | |||
| Uyghur | ئۆزى | ||
Himself in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | ʻo ia iho | ||
| 'O ia iho' also means 'itself' or 'herself' depending on the context and the gender of the subject | |||
| Maori | ko ia ano | ||
| The term 'ko ia ano' can also refer to an ancestor or to a person's personal mana (power) | |||
| Samoan | o ia lava | ||
| The Samoan word "o ia lava" can also mean "one's own self" or "that which is one's own." | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | ang kanyang sarili | ||
| In ancient Tagalog, it could also mean "one's own body" or "corpse." | |||
Himself in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | jupa pachpa | ||
| Guarani | ha’e voi | ||
Himself in International Languages
| Esperanto | mem | ||
| 'Mem' is also used as a suffix to form reflexive pronouns, such as 'mem-veturi' (to drive oneself). | |||
| Latin | ipsum | ||
| In typography, "ipsum" is a placeholder text that has been used for centuries to fill space. | |||
Himself in Others Languages
| Greek | ο ίδιος | ||
| Ο ίδιος is also used as a reflexive pronoun, meaning 'oneself' or 'by oneself'. | |||
| Hmong | nws tus kheej | ||
| In Hmong, "nws tus kheej" is also used to refer to "his or her own". | |||
| Kurdish | xwe | ||
| "Xwe" in Kurdish not only means "himself," but also "self," "essence," and "soul." | |||
| Turkish | kendisi | ||
| "Kendisi" also means "the person in question" in Turkish. | |||
| Xhosa | ngokwakhe | ||
| The word can also be translated as "in person" or "on his own". | |||
| Yiddish | זיך | ||
| The Yiddish word "זיך" also means "for". | |||
| Zulu | yena | ||
| 'Yena' shares an origin with 'mina' ('myself'), 'wena' ('yourself') and 'kweyethu' ('amongst ourselves'), stemming from the Bantu root *-we, with the pluralisation suffix *-na | |||
| Assamese | নিজেই | ||
| Aymara | jupa pachpa | ||
| Bhojpuri | खुदे के बा | ||
| Dhivehi | އަމިއްލައަށް | ||
| Dogri | खुद ही | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kanyang sarili | ||
| Guarani | ha’e voi | ||
| Ilocano | isu a mismo | ||
| Krio | insɛf sɛf | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | خۆی | ||
| Maithili | स्वयं | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯁꯥꯃꯛ꯫ | ||
| Mizo | amah ngei pawh a ni | ||
| Oromo | ofii isaatii | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ନିଜେ | ||
| Quechua | kikin | ||
| Sanskrit | स्वयं | ||
| Tatar | үзе | ||
| Tigrinya | ባዕሉ እዩ። | ||
| Tsonga | hi yexe | ||