overwordExplorer
DUTCH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

zelf.

oneself, referring to the subject of a sentence: myself, yourself, itself, ourselves, themselves etc.

4 characters1 syllables approx.Nederlands language

Meaning & usage

adv/zɛlf/
  1. oneself, referring to the subject of a sentence: myself, yourself, itself, ourselves, themselves etc.

    emphatic · intensifier
    Zelf ging hij er niet heen.
  2. oneself, by oneself, alone

    Ik kan dat niet zelf, kun je me helpen?
Where this word comes from

From Middle Dutch self, from Old Dutch self, *selvo, from Proto-Germanic *selbaz, from Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- (“one's own”), from *s(w)e- (“separate, apart”). Compare Low German sulv, West Frisian self, English self, German selbst, selber, Danish selv.

noun/zɛlf/
  1. self

    neuter · no-diminutive · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle Dutch self, from Old Dutch self, *selvo, from Proto-Germanic *selbaz, from Proto-Indo-European *selbʰ- (“one's own”), from *s(w)e- (“separate, apart”). Compare Low German sulv, West Frisian self, English self, German selbst, selber, Danish selv.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.