己Nuance and style
Oneself
自分 means “oneself”, but it often takes the inner viewpoint of the person you're talking about.
Two kinds
Empathy or contrast
Ken was spoken to by someone he didn't know.
You're taking Ken's point of view, and he's the one experiencing it.
Please tidy your own room yourself.
“Yourself, not someone else”, for contrast.
Common uses
Oneself
I made it myself.
で: by oneself
I clean my own room.
の: one's own
She always talks about herself.
Please take care of yourself.
を: oneself as the object
I was the one in the wrong.
In some styles, it means “I”.
Who does it refer to?
Usually the subject
自分 usually means whoever the main sentence, or the conversation, is about. It needs to be a person who's aware of the situation, so a sentence that uses 自分 about someone no longer alive to know it sounds wrong.
In a sentence with causatives or passives, 自分 can sometimes refer to two different people: 道子は和夫を自分の部屋に行かせた could be Michiko's room or Kazuo's. Context decides.
Empathy
Feeling with the character
My friend forgave the person who laughed at them.
Spoken from the friend's viewpoint, as the person affected.
People find it hard to notice their own mistakes.
A general statement: anyone.
Check yourself
Whose is it?
Your turn
で or の?
Please think for yourself.
Say it yourself
Independent
Your friend offers to help you move. Tell them you'll do it yourself, and that your brother is also building his own house.
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