French word

moi-même

Pronunciation

IPA/mwamɛm/

Meaning

  • pronounmyself

Example

J'ai fait ce gâteau moi-même.

I made this cake myself.

Illustration for moi-même (myself)

More examples

Moi-même, je préfère rester à la maison.

I myself prefer to stay at home.

Core concept

A person points back to the same self who is speaking or acting.

Common phrases

  • le faire moi-même

    do it myself

  • par moi-même

    by myself

Similar words

toi-même: Emphasizes the person addressed as the clear subject involved in the action.
lui-même: Emphasizes a male third party as the clear subject involved in the action.
soi-même: Shows an unspecified or general person as the subject involved in the action.
nous-mêmes: Emphasizes the speaker and others as the subjects involved in the action.

Definition in French

S'utilise pour renforcer « moi » et indiquer que l'action ou l'état concerne la même personne.

Word origin

Moi-même combines the stressed pronoun moi, from Latin me through Old French, with même, from Latin metipsimus through Old French mesme.

Usage tips

  • After a verb, moi-même often means personally or by my own effort, but it does not necessarily mean alone.

Opposites

  • autruiotherspronoun
  • les autresother peoplepronoun

Word lists with this word