How to use the Russian reflexive pronouns себя and сам?

The Russian reflexive pronouns себя (transcribed ceeBYA) and сам (transcribed sam) can both be translated into English as “-self,” but carry their own nuances and have distinct uses. While себя has fewer forms, сам has more and it is literally translated as “by -self.” In this post we will also explore the differences between using себя and using a reflexive verb.

In Russian, there is no such phrase as “me, myself, and I,” but there is a phrase that conveys the epitome of selfishness: себя любимого (transcribed seeBYA lyooBEEmava, meaning “my beloved self”). So, if you feel the need to talk about себе любимом (transcribed seeBYE lyBEEmam, meaning “your beloved self”), you are in the right place! Let’s start!

Classically, reflexive pronouns are words that we use when an action is directed back on the subject of the sentence.

• personal pronoun

  She loves me.

  The subject (she) and the object (me) are two different people.
• reflexive pronoun

  I love myself.

  The subject (I) and the object (myself) are the same person.

However, in English, reflexive pronouns can also be used in some other contexts where we are referring back to the subject of a sentence. For example:

In Russian, we most commonly use the reflexive pronoun себя (meaning seeBYA) for most of the uses above, while we most often use сам (transcribed sam) for something that someone does “by oneself.”. Let’s have a look at each one!

The reflexive pronoun себя (transcribed seeBYA) is used as an object in a sentence. It can be used in a variety of cases, but the good news is that there is no differentiation for gender, number, or person. So “myself,” “herself,” and “himself” are all translated as себя (transcribed seeBYA).

Let’s look at some examples:

• Он не любил говорить о себе.

  Transcription: on nee lyooBEEL gavaREET a seeBYE

  Translation: He did not like to talk about himself.
• Она работает на себя.

  Transcription: aNA raBOtayet na seeBYA

  Translation: She works for herself.

In Russian, we usually do not use себя for the object of reflexive verbs. Reflexive verbs are verbs that carry a special ending -ся/-сь, which makes it so that they always represent actions directed back onto the subject. For example:

Reflexive verbs typically are not followed by себя because, historically, the reflexive ending is the reflexive pronoun. So…

In some cases, there may be very little difference in meaning between using a verb + reflexive pronoun vs. a reflexive verb.

But there can be a significant difference in meaning, contextual use, formality, or style between using the two sentence structures.

Сам (transcribed sam) is another reflexive pronoun, which can be more accurately translated as “by oneself.”

This is one of the most frequent words that toddlers use to express independence when adults try to offer them help:

But you might use it for anyone who doesn’t need help to do something.

Like себя (transcribed seeBYA), сам (transcribed sam) does not reflect the person of the subject (so “myself” = “yourself”). However, сам does decline for gender, number, and case. Additionally, it can be used as the subject of a sentence, so it has nominative forms.

You can see all the forms of сам (transcribed sam) in our reflexive pronouns table, at the bottom of the page.

Although сам (meaning sam) can be used by itself, it is often used along with себя (transcribed seeBYA) for emphasis and can be omitted.

• Они учатся жить в гармонии с самими собой.

  Transcription: aNEE OOchatsa zheet v garMOneei s saMEEme saBOY

  Translation: They are learning to live in harmony with themselves.
• Они учатся жить в гармонии с собой.

  Transcription: aNEE OOchatsa zheet v garMOneei s saBOY

  Translation: They are learning to live in harmony with themselves.

The following are some set phrases that contain reflexive pronouns:

• само собой (разумеется)

  Transcription: saMO saBOY razooMYEyetsa

  Translation: it goes without saying / needless to say / oh yeah / of course
• сам себе хозяин

  Transcription: sam seeBYE khaZYAeen

  Translation: one’s own boss
• не в себе

  Transcription: nee f seeBYE

  Translation: not yourself / not in a good mood
• Ничего себе!

  Transcription: neecheeVO seeBYE

  Translation: Wow! / Whoa!
• Так себе

  Transcription: tak seeBYE

  Translation: nothing out of the ordinary / so-so

In this post, we discussed reflexive pronouns себя (transcribed seeBYA, meaning “oneself”) and сам (transcribed sam, meaning “(by) oneself”). Here’s what you should take away:

• себя (transcribed seeBYA)is used when an action is directed back at the subject (or after certain prepositions).

  • Reflexive verbs are not used with себя.

  • Some verbs require себя.

• сам (transcribed sam) is used for an action that you undertake “by yourself”

• Neither сам (transcribed sam) or себя (transcribed seeBYA) change for number (e.g. “myself” vs. “yourself”), but they both reflect case and сам (transcribed sam) also reflects number and gender.

But there’s one Russian reflexive word left to cover: the reflexive adjective свой (transcribed svoy, meaning “one's own”)! Are you ready to learn more? Check out our post on how to use свой (transcribed svoy) in Russian.

We hope you found this article informative and fun! Now it’s time to put this information into practice with the exercises below!