selber
oneself / personally
Emphasizes that a person does something personally or is personally affected; it means „selber“ (oneself) or „persönlich“ (personally).
EXAMPLE
Ich habe das selber gesehen.
I saw it myself.
selber
oneself
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Meanings
von selber
by itself
Indicates that something happens without outside help or conscious intervention.
EXAMPLE
Die Tür ist von selber aufgegangen.
The door opened by itself.
selber schuld
your own fault
A fixed colloquial expression used to say that someone bears responsibility for an unpleasant consequence themselves.
EXAMPLE
Wenn du deine Hausaufgaben nicht machst, bist du selber schuld.
If you don't do your homework, it's your own fault.
Usage tips
Position and emphasis
„Selber“ (oneself) often comes directly after the person or thing being emphasized. Pay attention to what „selber“ (oneself) refers to: the person performing the action or another part of the sentence.
EXAMPLE
Die Chefin selber hat uns begrüßt.
The boss herself welcomed us.
Das Haus selber ist schön, aber der Garten ist ungepflegt.
The house itself is beautiful, but the garden is neglected.
Spoken language
„Selber“ (oneself) is especially common in spoken everyday language and in personal, informal messages.
EXAMPLE
Soll ich dir helfen, oder möchtest du es lieber selber machen?
Should I help you, or would you rather do it yourself?
Typical collocations
Common combinations include „von selber aufgehen“ (to open by itself), „von selber verschwinden“ (to disappear by itself), and „sich von selber erledigen“ (to resolve itself). In „sich von selber erledigen“ (to resolve itself), the reflexive pronoun belongs to the verb and remains in the sentence.
EXAMPLE
Zum Glück hat sich das Problem von selber erledigt.
Luckily, the problem resolved itself.
Fixed sentence pattern
The expression is often used with „sein“ (to be): „selber schuld sein“ (to be one's own fault). If you want to explicitly name the unpleasant consequence, you can add it with „an“ (for) and the dative case.
EXAMPLE
Er ist an seiner Erkältung selber schuld, weil er ohne Jacke rausgegangen ist.
He has only himself to blame for his cold because he went outside without a jacket.
In real life
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