자기 vs 자신

INTRODUCTION:

안녕하십니까! I am Vaibhavi from India. When referring to a third person we usually use pronouns '그' for 'he', '그녀' for 'she' and '그 사람' for 'that person'..

When referring to a third person we usually use pronouns '그' for 'he', '그녀' for 'she' and '그 사람' for 'that person'.

For example:

He likes food = 그는 음식을 좋아해요.

However, if the sentence is; He likes food made by him. = 그는 On the other hand, when one person is both the subject as well as object of the sentence, the word “자신” is used for the object (the second time the person is mentioned).

Generally you will see “자신” translated as "oneself". However it depends on who the person is. The translation can be myself, yourself, himself

herself, themselves depending upon first person .

그의 만든 음식을 좋아해요.

The above sentence is not natural.

Therefore, it could be written as

그는 자기가 만든 음식을 좋아해요.

자기:

Here, 자기 can be used instead of 그의 to refer the second time you mention that person.

Therefore, 자기 is used when a person is mentioned twice in a sentence.

More Examples:

1) 우리 아들은 자기 건강에 대해 의사와 상담을 했어요. = Our son consulted with a doctor about his health.

2) 우리 아들은 자기(의) 일을 항상 혼자 하고 싶어요.

= Our son always wants to do his work alone.

3) 저의 아내는 자기가 요리한 것을 보통 안 먹어요.

= My wife usually doesn’t eat the food she cooks.

Although the same person has been mentioned twice in the sentence it is not the subject and the object of the sentence.

우리 아들은 자기(의) 일을 항상 혼자 하고 싶어요

= Our son always wants to do his work alone

In the above sentence the subject is our son and the object is his work, therefore the subject and the object is different.

자신:

On the other hand, when one person is both the subject as well as object of the sentence, the word “자신” is used for the object (the second time the person is mentioned).

Generally you will see “자신” translated as "oneself". However it depends on who the person is. The translation can be myself, yourself, himself herself, themselves depending upon first person.

1) 그는 자기 자신에 대해 아무 것도 알고 있지 않아요. = He doesn’t know anything about himself.

2) 그들은 자신을 안 믿어요 = They don’t trust themselves.

3) 저는 한국에서 제 자신에 대해 많이 배웠어요.= I learned a lot about myself in Korea.

“자신” is mostly followed by words like 나/내/저/제 when subject is 'I'.

너/네 when the subject is 'you'.

그/그녀/자기 when the subject is 'him' or 'her'.

그들 if the subject is 'they'.

That's it for this lesson. For more such free and detailed lessons visit the website koreanstudyjunkie.com or click on the link below

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