moi-même
/mwa.mɛm/
The closest French way to say me, myself and I is moi-même, which stresses that you did something yourself or on your own.
moi-même adds the idea of myself to moi, which on its own can mean me or I. It shows that you acted without help or were by yourself.
What does it mean word for word?
moi means me, and même here means self.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word changes with the person you talk about. For a woman or girl, use elle-même, herself.
How do you pronounce it?
moi-même is pronounced /mwa.mɛm/, in two syllables.
Did you know?
- If a speaker wants to emphasize 'I' as the subject rather than 'myself', they use a 'disjunctive' pronoun, saying moi, je instead of just je.
- The word même in moi-même is a cognate of the English word 'same', reflecting a shared Latin root where identity and similarity were linked.
- French speakers may use the phrase en solo to describe acting independently, a borrowing from musical terminology that functions similarly to the English 'me, myself, and I'.
Examples in context
- Je ne veux pas qu'on décide à ma place. Je décide moi-même.I don't want others to decide for me. I decide for myself.
Example conversation
Lucas is talking about a project he completed.
- LucasJ'ai construit cette étagère moi-même.I built this shelf myself.
- ChloéC'est impressionnant, Lucas !That's impressive, Lucas!
- LucasMerci, Chloé, j'ai tout fait seul.Thanks, Chloé, I did everything alone.
- ChloéTu es très doué.You are very gifted.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry moi-même, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
