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How to use the Russian reflexive pronouns себя and сам?

By: Aleks Novikov Fri Feb 28 2025
Russian
Pronouns

The Russian reflexive pronouns себя[ceeBYA] and сам[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[seeBYA lyooBEEmava](my beloved self). So, if you feel the need to talk about себе любимом[seeBYE lyBEEmam](your beloved self), you are in the right place! Let’s start!

Table of Contents

    What are reflexive pronouns?

    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:

    reflexive pronoun

    I bought it for myself.

    I’ll do it myself.

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

    How to use the reflexive pronoun себя?

    The reflexive pronoun себя[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[seeBYA].

    Case
    Formation Pattern

    Nominative

    --

    Accusative

    cебя[seeBYA]

    Genitive

    cебя[seeBYA]

    Dative

    cебе[seeBYE]

    Instrumental

    cобой[saBOY]

    Prepositional

    cебе[seeBYE]

    → There is no nominative case because себя is never the subject of a sentence.

    Let’s look at some examples:

    • Он не любил говорить о себе.

      on nee lyooBEEL gavaREET a seeBYE

      He did not like to talk about himself.

    • Она работает на себя.

      aNA raBOtayet na seeBYA

      She works for herself.

    Should you use себя with reflexive verbs in Russian?

    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:

    одеваться

    adeeVAtsa

    to get dressed

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

    одевать

    себя

    →

    одеваться

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

    With a reflexive pronoun
    With a reflexive verb

    одевать себя

    adeeVA seeBYA

    to dress oneself

    → this is rare

    одеваться

    adeeVAtsa

    to get dressed

    → this is common

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

    With a reflexive pronoun
    With a reflexive verb

    лишать себя

    leeSHAT seeBYA

    to deprive oneself of

    лишаться

    leeSHATsa

    to lose

    готовить себя к разочарованию

    gaTOveet seeBYA k razacharaVAneeyoo

    to prepare oneself for disappointment

    готовиться к экзаменам

    gaTOveetsa k ekZAmeenam

    to prepare oneself for exams

    Important

    In Russian, some non-reflexive verbs require the object to be the reflexive pronoun себя[seeBYA]. Let’s see some examples.

    • To say how you feel in Russian, you need the reflexive pronoun. If you hear Russian speakers say, “I feel myself well” in English, now you know why.

      Я чувствую себя хорошо.

      ya CHOOstvooyu seeBYA kharaSHO

      I feel good.

      lit. I feel myself well.

    • While, in English “yourself” is optional with the verb “to behave,” in Russian it is required. Also, in English, when “one behaves themselves,” it means they behave well but, in Russian, you need to specify how to behave by adding words such as хорошо[kharaSHO](well).

      Веди себя хорошо!

      viDEE seeBYA kharaSHO

      Behave!

      lit. Behave yourself well!

    When to use the reflexive pronoun сам?

    Сам[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:

    Я сам

    ya sam

    I (want to do it) myself.

    → masculine

    я сама

    ya saMA

    I (want to do it) myself.

    → feminine

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

    Она сама всё знает.

    aNA saMA fsyo ZNAyet

    She knows everything (by) herself.

    Like себя[seeBYA], сам[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.

    nominative case

    Сам не знаю почему.

    sam nee ZNAyu pacheeMOO

    I, myself, don’t know why.

    You can see all the forms of сам[sam] in our reflexive pronouns table, at the bottom of the page.

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

    • Они учатся жить в гармонии с самими собой.

      aNEE OOchatsa zheet v garMOneei s saMEEme saBOY

      They are learning to live in harmony with themselves.

    • Они учатся жить в гармонии с собой.

      aNEE OOchatsa zheet v garMOneei s saBOY

      They are learning to live in harmony with themselves.

    Russian set phrases with reflexive pronouns

    The following are some set phrases that contain reflexive pronouns:

    • само собой (разумеется)

      saMO saBOY razooMYEyetsa

      it goes without saying / needless to say / oh yeah / of course

    • сам себе хозяин

      sam seeBYE khaZYAeen

      one’s own boss

    • не в себе

      nee f seeBYE

      not yourself / not in a good mood

    • Ничего себе!

      neecheeVO seeBYE

      Wow! / Whoa!

    • Так себе

      tak seeBYE

      nothing out of the ordinary / so-so

    To sum up

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

    • себя[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[sam] is used for an action that you undertake “by yourself”

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

    But there’s one Russian reflexive word left to cover: the reflexive adjective свой[svoy](one's own)! Are you ready to learn more? Check out our post on how to use свой[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!

    Downloadable Resources

    Elevate your language-learning journey to new heights with the following downloadable resources.

    Activities: себя and самStudy Resource: Declining сам

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