自己 · 别人
oneself, (one’s) own · other people
Structure
人 + 自己 · 自己 + 动词 · 自己 + 名词 · 别人
What it means
自己 means “oneself, one’s own”; 别人 means “other people”, anyone but the person you are talking about.
How it is built
Person + 自己: 我自己. 自己 + verb (by oneself): 你们自己来吧 (Help yourselves). 自己 + noun (one’s own): 自己家. Example: 这是我自己做的 (I made this myself).
When to use it
Use 自己 to stress that you did it, not someone else: 我自己做的，不是别人做的. Use 别人 for other people in general: 别人的东西不要拿.
Watch out
For “by myself”, 自己 goes before the verb, not at the end like English. ✗ 我做的自己。 ✓ 我自己做的。
Examples
这是我自己做的，不是别人做的。
I made this myself; nobody else did.
菜很多，你们自己来吧。
There’s plenty of food. Help yourselves.
别人的东西不要拿。
Don’t take other people’s things.
来了就像在自己家一样。
Make yourself at home.
Learn this in HSK 2 · Lesson 14: 送礼物 (Giving gifts)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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