Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

yourself

/jəˈsɛlf/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.31 in modern English

Syllables: your-self
IPA: /jəˈsɛlf/

14

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

pron

Your own self (singular).

pron

You (singular); used emphatically, especially to indicate exclusiveness of the referent's participation in the predicate, i.e., that no one else is involved.

pron

You (singular); even when "you" has not been used previously; see usage notes.

pron

Honorific alternative letter-case form of yourself, sometimes used when referring to God or another important figure who is understood from context.

Example Sentences

"Be careful with that fire or you'll burn yourself."
"After a good night's sleep you'll feel like yourself again."
"As an adult, you would find yourself being a people pleaser with the men in your life –– afraid to be rejected and emotionally abandoned."
"You yourself know that what you wrote was wrong."
"I spoke with yourself last in February."
"No one understands me like yourself."

Etymology

From Middle English yourself, equivalent to your + -self.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: yourself
Suffix: your

Inflected Forms

you (reflexive of) yerself (alternative, nonstandard) yo'self (alternative, nonstandard) yoself (alternative, nonstandard) yohself (alternative, nonstandard)

Phrases

because you touch yourself at night buy yourself a hat check yourself before you wreck yourself dig yourself do-it-yourself do it yourself don't keep a dog and bark yourself don't knock yourself out

Frequently Paired Words

Ime me myselfmemysen mine mymineme we us ourselvesourselfoursen

Rhymes With

myself self himself itself herself shelf elf oneself thyself themself ourself delph

Questions

How do you pronounce yourself?: The recorded pronunciation is /jəˈsɛlf/.
What does yourself mean?: Your own self (singular).
Where does yourself come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce yourself

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “yourself”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/jəˈsɛlf/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “yourself”.
Repeat and practice — Say “yourself” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.