The Reflexive Pronoun 自己 in Chinese
自己
自己 refers back to a person established in the clause or surrounding discourse. As an object it means oneself, and after a possessor it can emphasize that person's own item or action. Its intended antecedent must be compatible with the clause; it cannot introduce an unrelated new participant by itself.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Antecedent + 自己; Subject + Verb + 自己
Read the structure
自己 refers back to a person established in the clause or surrounding discourse. As an object it means oneself, and after a possessor it can emphasize that person's own item or action. Its intended antecedent must be compatible with the clause; it cannot introduce an unrelated new participant by itself. Keep the model Antecedent + 自己; Subject + Verb + 自己 visible while you compare each sentence.
他喜欢自己。
He likes himself.
Choose the right context
Use 自己 as the object when the subject acts on the same person. Put a pronoun or noun before 自己 to emphasize that person's own role. Use 自己的 before a noun to express one's own possession.
我自己做早饭。
I make breakfast myself.
Respect the boundary
Do not use 自己 when subject and intended object are different people. Do not add 们 to 自己 to form a plural reflexive. Do not place 自己 before its possessor in the emphatic possessive pattern.
我自己他做早饭。
(I make breakfast myself.)
Repair the pattern
Unrelated pronoun splits emphatic subject from its verb: 我自己 is the complete emphatic subject; an unrelated pronoun cannot be inserted between it and the predicate 做早饭. Possessor follows the reflexive: The person being emphasized precedes 自己, forming the modifier 我自己的 before 书.
我自己做早饭。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
他喜欢自己。
He likes himself.
他
Antecedent
This part occupies the Antecedent position in the model pattern.
喜欢
自己; Subject
This part occupies the 自己; Subject position in the model pattern.
自己
Verb
This part occupies the Verb position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
他喜欢自己。
He likes himself.
我自己做早饭。
I make breakfast myself.
她带了自己的书。
She brought her own book.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Use 自己 as the object when the subject acts on the same person.
- Put a pronoun or noun before 自己 to emphasize that person's own role.
- Use 自己的 before a noun to express one's own possession.
Do not use it when
- Do not use 自己 when subject and intended object are different people.
- Do not add 们 to 自己 to form a plural reflexive.
- Do not place 自己 before its possessor in the emphatic possessive pattern.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
我自己他做早饭。
我自己做早饭。
Unrelated pronoun splits emphatic subject from its verb
我自己 is the complete emphatic subject; an unrelated pronoun cannot be inserted between it and the predicate 做早饭.
这是自己我的书。
这是我自己的书。
Possessor follows the reflexive
The person being emphasized precedes 自己, forming the modifier 我自己的 before 书.
我自己他做早饭。
我自己 is the complete emphatic subject; an unrelated pronoun cannot be inserted between it and the predicate 做早饭.
这是自己我的书。
The person being emphasized precedes 自己, forming the modifier 我自己的 before 书.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 自己.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 自己. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
The Reflexive Pronoun 自己 Questions
Can 自己 refer to a plural subject?
Yes. Its form stays unchanged: 他们照顾自己.
What does 我自己 add?
It emphasizes that I personally perform the action, without someone else doing it for me.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: GF0025-2021 Appendix A, Level 2 item 【二06】 (PDF pp. 185-186)
Provides official Level 2 directory placement and examples only; it does not establish the learner-facing usage explanation.
Official sourceModern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Chapter 5, Nouns; pronouns and the reflexive 自己
Explains reflexive reference, person-plus-自己 emphasis, and the invariant form used with singular or plural antecedents.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Easy to confuse
我/你/他/她/我们Basic Personal Pronouns
Distinguish between 自己 referring to the participant in the anaphora sentence and 我你他她我们 directly referring to the person, focusing on checking the antecedent object and context.
Compare
人家The Pronoun 人家
Compare the same participant anaphora of 自己 with the other person or general reference of 人家, to avoid interpreting both as third person.
Compare
彼此Reciprocal Pronoun 彼此
自己 refers back to one participant, whereas 彼此 establishes a reciprocal relation among two or more participants.
RECOMMENDED NEXT
Easy to confuse
Distinguish between 自己 referring to the participant in the anaphora sentence and 我你他她我们 directly referring to the person, focusing on checking the antecedent object and context.