自己 for “Myself, Yourself, On My Own”
Use 自己 to say “myself” or “yourself”, to stress that someone does something on their own, and 自己的 for “my own”.
Pattern
verb + 自己; (person +) 自己 + verb; 自己的 + noun
自己 points back to the person already named: 我自己 is “I myself”, 他自己 is “he himself”.
他自己去医院了。
When to use 自己 for “Myself, Yourself, On My Own”
自己 means “oneself” and usually refers back to a person already in the sentence. After a verb it is the object: 照顾自己 “take care of yourself”. Right after a person and before a verb it means “by oneself, without help”: 我自己做, 他自己去. With 的 it means “one’s own”: 自己的房间.
你要照顾好自己。
Take good care of yourself.
不用帮我，我自己来。
No need to help, I’ll do it myself.
这是我自己的房间。
This is my own room.
自己的事情自己做。
Do your own tasks yourself.
Common traps
- 他不喜欢他 means he doesn’t like someone else; for “himself”, say 他不喜欢自己.
- Say 我自己做的, not 我自己的做的: 自己 + verb means “by myself”, while 自己的 goes before a noun.
- Put 自己 right after the person: say 我自己去, not 自己我去.
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