'Me' or 'Myself' or 'I': What's the Difference?

When dealing with objects of a sentence, it might be hard to decide between using ‘me’ and ‘myself.’ Wondering what the difference is between the two? We’ll answer that in this article, plus teach you how to use both in a sentence correctly.

The short answer is that both ‘me’ and ‘myself’ are considered objects. However, ‘myself’ is a special object. Only use ‘myself’ when you’re the subject of a sentence.

‘Me,’ ‘Myself’ and I

The word ‘me’ is a personal pronoun, and the word ‘myself’ is a reflexive pronoun, but it can also be used as an intensive pronoun.

What this means is that ‘me’ refers to one’s own self (you).

‘Myself’ refers to the speaker; however, they’re used in different contexts.

For example, you might say: No one passed the ball to me in gym class today.

As you can see, you can’t replace ‘me’ with ‘myself.’

You might also say: I can’t do anything for myself.

This is correct, but replacing ‘myself’ with ‘me’ wouldn’t be grammatical.

‘Me’ vs. ‘Myself’ – What’s the Difference? 

As you just learned, the difference between ‘me’ and ‘myself’ is the way the words are used. Both words refer to you or whoever’s speaking.

For example, if you’re talking to someone about yourself, you’d refer to yourself as ‘me’ or, in some cases, ‘myself.’

Take a look at an example:

• I usually describe myself as an introverted empath, but I don’t want to reveal too much about myself to this particular group.

Definition and Meaning of ‘Me’ and ‘Myself’

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of ‘me’ is the objective version of ‘I.’

The definition of ‘myself’ is identical to ‘I’ or for emphasis.

For example, you might say, “I myself am not going down that steep hill.”

Pronunciation: How to Pronounce ‘Me’ and ‘Myself’ 

Wondering how to pronounce these words? Here’s a short guide.

• To pronounce ‘me’ use the phonetic spelling: mEE
• To pronounce ‘myself’ use the phonetic spelling: mIEsElf

How to Use ‘Me’ in a Sentence

Now that you know what the words mean and how to pronounce them, let’s take a look at how to use them in a sentence. We’ll start with ‘me.’

• Why do you always whack me with that every time you go by? It’s really annoying.
• Don’t talk to me that way. I deserve more respect than that.
• Me and my fiancé are going away on a weekend trip this weekend.
• Good things just keep happening to me. I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m not going to complain.

How to Use ‘Myself’ in a Sentence

Now, let’s see some examples of how to use ‘myself’ in a sentence.

• I never thought I’d find myself divorced at 30 with two kids.
• I love to see myself in the most expensive jewelry, and my husband does too.
• I’ve always thought of myself as smart but not as a nerd.
• I can’t do this by myself. Would you be willing to help me?

Final Thoughts on ‘Me’ and ‘Myself’

To recap, we learned that ‘me’ and ‘myself’ both refer to oneself, used by whoever is speaking. The terms cannot be used interchangeably because they’re both objects, but ‘myself’ is a special object, which means it has special considerations when it comes to usage.

If you ever get stuck or forget any of this, you can always come back for a quick refresher. We’ve got a ton of content on other confusing words and phrases you might come across while learning the language. Go check it out anytime you need to.