Himself or Hisself: Which Is Correct? Meaning, and Usage

Himself or Hisself: Which Is Correct? Meaning, and Usage becomes easier when you know how pronouns work.

 Himself is a reflexive pronoun that refers back to a male person or animal already mentioned in a sentence or clause. It combines him and self as one word and helps writers avoid repeating a noun. In formal writing, himself is the correct choice and follows standard grammar rules.

Hisself can sound natural in conversation, everyday talk, or casual speech. You may hear it in movies, songs, or some regional dialects, particularly when native speakers use informal language. However, hearing a word does not always make it appropriate for formal use. Hisself is a dialectal variation with a place in language history, but it is generally incorrect in present-day standard English.

For learners, students, and professionals, choosing himself is the safest way to avoid mistakes. The usage is simple, although it may initially cause confusion because hisself sounds familiar. Writers should use himself when referring to the same male subject, especially in formal contexts. 

Understanding this difference makes English writing clearer and helps you feel more confident when speaking and writing.

Quick Answer: 

Himself is the standard English form. Use it in essays, schoolwork, professional writing, formal communication, and edited content.

Hisself is a documented nonstandard or dialectal variant of himself. It can occur in regional or informal speech and may appear deliberately in literature or dialogue. However, it isn’t the form to choose when you need standard English.

Word	Standard English?	Meaning	Best use
himself	Yes	A male person or animal referring back to itself	Standard and formal writing
hisself	No	Same basic meaning as himself	Dialectal or nonstandard contexts

The easiest rule is short and dependable: he → him → himself.

What Does Himself Mean?

Himself is a reflexive pronoun associated with he and him. Cambridge Dictionary lists reflexive pronouns such as myself, yourself, himself, herself, and themselves and explains that they normally refer back to the subject of a clause.

Consider this sentence:

Marcus taught himself to cook.

Here, Marcus performs the action, and himself refers back to Marcus. The same person fills both roles.

Without the reflexive pronoun, the sentence changes meaning:

• Marcus taught himself to cook.
• Marcus taught him to cook.

In the first sentence, Marcus learned to cook. In the second, Marcus taught another male person.

That small difference is why choosing the correct pronoun matters.

Himself as a Reflexive Pronoun

Use himself when the subject and the person receiving the action are the same male person or male animal.

Examples include:

• Daniel introduced himself to the new students.
• The boy accidentally blamed himself.
• Robert bought himself a new notebook.
• The dog scratched himself.
• James looked at himself in the mirror.

The pattern becomes especially clear when you compare the subject and reflexive forms:

Subject	Reflexive form	Example
I	myself	I prepared myself.
you	yourself	You prepared yourself.
he	himself	He prepared himself.
she	herself	She prepared herself.
it	itself	The machine shut itself off.
we	ourselves	We prepared ourselves.
they	themselves	They prepared themselves.

This is the standard reflexive-pronoun system described by Cambridge Grammar.

Himself for Emphasis

Himself doesn’t always function as a reflexive object. It can also emphasize a person.

For example:

The principal himself announced the decision.

The sentence doesn’t mean that the principal announced the principal. Instead, himself stresses that the principal personally made the announcement.

You can often remove the word without destroying the basic grammar:

The principal announced the decision.

The meaning remains clear, but the emphasis disappears.

Other examples include:

• The author himself answered the question.
• The president himself attended the meeting.
• Tom repaired the bicycle himself.
• The manager himself checked the figures.

Cambridge Dictionary identifies this emphatic use as one of the main functions of himself.

Himself With “By”

Another common construction is by himself. In this expression, the phrase means alone or without help.

For example:

Liam completed the project by himself.

This tells you that Liam completed it without assistance.

Compare these sentences:

• Liam hurt himself.
• Liam completed the project by himself.

The first uses himself reflexively. The second uses by himself to express independence or being alone.

Other examples include:

• He traveled by himself.
• The child built the model by himself.
• Noah learned the software by himself.

What Does Hisself Mean?

Hisself means essentially the same thing as himself, but it doesn’t have the same status in standard English.

Merriam-Webster defines hisself as “himself” and labels it chiefly dialectal. Its dictionary entry also gives its first known use as the 12th century. Dictionary.com similarly lists it as a nonstandard pronoun meaning “himself.”

So, calling hisself a simple typo misses an important point. The form has a genuine history in English.

You may encounter sentences such as:

He did it hisself.

In standard edited English, the expected version is:

He did it himself.

The second sentence should be your choice for ordinary writing.

Why Do Some People Say Hisself?

The form hisself makes sense if you look at the broader structure of English reflexive pronouns.

English has forms such as:

• myself
• yourself
• herself
• himself
• themselves

A speaker may naturally notice possessive forms such as my, your, and his and build a reflexive form with -self. That produces hisself.

Linguistic descriptions of nonstandard English have noted that forms such as hisself can follow a systematic pattern within particular dialects. In other words, the form isn’t random noise. It represents a real variation in how some speakers construct reflexive pronouns.

That distinction matters. A word can be nonstandard without being meaningless.

What’s the Difference?

The main difference isn’t meaning. Both forms generally point to the same person.

The important difference is standardness and context.

Point	Himself	Hisself
Meaning	Refers to the male person or animal in question	Generally the same
Standard English	Yes	No
Formal writing	Recommended	Avoid
Academic writing	Recommended	Avoid
Professional writing	Recommended	Avoid
Dialectal speech	Common	May occur
Historical usage	Yes	Yes
Use in dialogue	Normal	Possible when representing dialect

For most readers, himself is immediately recognizable as the standard reflexive pronoun. Hisself, by contrast, may signal a regional or nonstandard speech pattern.

That doesn’t automatically make a speaker unintelligent. Dialects have their own grammatical systems. The practical issue is simply choosing the variety of English that fits the situation.

Why Is Himself Correct Instead of Hisself?

Here’s where English gets slightly quirky.

You might expect the reflexive form of he to be built from his:

he → his → hisself

That pattern looks reasonable. Yet standard English uses:

he → him → himself

The standard reflexive form therefore connects to him, the object form of the pronoun.

Cambridge Grammar gives the standard pattern as he → himself, alongside I → myself, you → yourself, she → herself, we → ourselves, and they → themselves.

English doesn’t always build its pronouns through one perfectly neat formula. Historical changes have shaped the modern system.

The history of hisself is particularly interesting. Etymonline traces the form to around 1400 and explains it as a development involving the changing interpretation of the first element in himself. It also traces himself to Old English forms containing him and self.

So the modern distinction isn’t simply a matter of logic. It’s the result of how English developed over time.

How to Use Himself in a Sentence

The easiest way to master himself is to see it doing different jobs.

Reflexive Use

Use himself when the action comes back to the male subject.

Examples:

• Aaron taught himself Spanish.
• Michael introduced himself to the guests.
• The athlete pushed himself to finish the race.
• The child saw himself in the photograph.
• He reminded himself to call later.

In each sentence, himself points back to the subject.

Emphatic Use

Use himself for emphasis when you want to highlight the person.

Examples:

• The author himself signed the book.
• The director himself approved the design.
• He himself admitted the mistake.
• The chef prepared the dish himself.

A useful test is to remove himself. If the sentence still works grammatically but loses emphasis, you’re probably looking at the emphatic use.

Use After a Preposition

Himself can also appear after prepositions when it refers back to the relevant male person.

Examples:

• He was talking about himself.
• He kept the information to himself.
• The decision was important to himself.

However, don’t insert himself simply because a sentence contains a male person. The pronoun needs an appropriate grammatical relationship with its antecedent.

When Should You Avoid Hisself?

For practical purposes, avoid hisself whenever your goal is standard written English.

That includes:

• School assignments
• Academic essays
• Business documents
• Professional emails
• Job applications
• Reports
• Formal articles
• Edited website content
• Exams and tests

For example:

Nonstandard:
He blamed hisself for the mistake.

Standard:
He blamed himself for the mistake.

A public educational resource from Oklahoma CareerTech also specifically identifies hisself as a nonstandard dialect form and gives himself as the standard alternative.

The safest choice is therefore simple: if you’re unsure, write himself.

Can Hisself Ever Be Used?

Yes, but context matters.

Because dictionaries document hisself as dialectal or nonstandard, the word can appear legitimately when an author is representing a particular variety of speech.

Imagine a novel in which a character speaks in a regional dialect. An author might write the character’s dialogue with nonstandard forms to preserve that voice.

Likewise, historical texts and linguistic studies may discuss or reproduce hisself because the form itself is relevant.

The key distinction is between using a dialect form intentionally and using it accidentally in standard writing.

A Simple Context Test

Ask yourself:

Am I writing standard English?

If the answer is yes, choose himself.

Am I quoting, studying, or deliberately representing a dialect?

If the answer is yes, hisself may be appropriate depending on the context.

This approach is more accurate than saying that the word never exists.

Common Mistakes 

Mistake 1: Using Hisself in Formal Writing

A writer may hear hisself in conversation and assume it’s acceptable everywhere.

It isn’t. Standard edited English calls for himself.

Instead of:
He completed the task hisself.

Write:
He completed the task himself.

Mistake 2: Confusing His With Himself

His and himself don’t perform the same grammatical job.

Compare:

• That is his jacket.
• He carried the jacket himself.

His shows possession. Himself is reflexive or emphatic.

Mistake 3: Assuming Hisself Is Just Gibberish

This goes too far in the opposite direction.

Hisself is recorded in major dictionaries. Merriam-Webster describes it as chiefly dialectal, and Dictionary.com lists it as nonstandard.

So it has a real place in the history and variation of English. It simply isn’t the standard choice for formal writing.

Mistake 4: Assuming Himself Always Means “Alone”

Sometimes himself appears with by, producing by himself, which means alone or without help.

But himself by itself doesn’t always mean alone.

Compare:

• He hurt himself.
• He completed the work by himself.

The first is reflexive. The second expresses independence.

Examples

The quickest way to remember the difference is to compare them directly.

Hisself version	Standard version
He introduced hisself.	He introduced himself.
John blamed hisself.	John blamed himself.
He fixed the computer hisself.	He fixed the computer himself.
The boy saw hisself in the mirror.	The boy saw himself in the mirror.
He taught hisself to play guitar.	He taught himself to play guitar.

These examples show the central rule without any grammatical smoke and mirrors: use himself in standard English.

Himself, His, and Him: What’s the Difference?

These three forms often cause confusion because they all connect to the same third-person masculine pronoun system.

Word	Grammatical role	Example
he	Subject pronoun	He called yesterday.
him	Object pronoun	I called him yesterday.
his	Possessive determiner/pronoun	That is his book.
himself	Reflexive or emphatic pronoun	He blamed himself.

Think of a sentence such as:

He gave him his book himself.

That sentence can look crowded because each form has a different function. He performs the action. Him receives something. His indicates ownership. Himself adds emphasis.

Understanding those roles makes himself vs. hisself much easier.

A Useful Case Study: Choosing the Right Form

Consider this sentence:

David repaired the bicycle himself.

What does himself do here?

It emphasizes that David personally repaired the bicycle. Someone else could have done the repair, but David did it.

Now change the sentence:

David repaired himself.

That sentence has a completely different grammatical structure. It suggests David performed an action on David.

Finally:

David repaired the bicycle hisself.

A reader will probably understand the sentence, but hisself marks the sentence as nonstandard in ordinary edited English.

The three sentences therefore demonstrate why grammar isn’t just about whether a reader can understand you. It also involves choosing the form expected by the variety and context of English you’re using.

Quick Decision Guide:

Choose himself when:

• You’re writing in standard English.
• You’re completing schoolwork.
• You’re writing an essay or report.
• You’re creating professional content.
• You need the standard reflexive form of he.
• You’re emphasizing a male person who performed an action personally.

Use hisself only when:

• You’re intentionally representing a dialect.
• You’re discussing the word as a linguistic form.
• You’re quoting historical or dialectal language.
• The nonstandard form is relevant to the character or source being discussed.

The Easy Memory Trick

Remember this sequence:

He → him → himself

Not:

He → his → hisself

That one distinction will prevent most himself or hisself mistakes.

Read More: Lite or Light: Correct Spelling, Difference and Usage

FAQs

1. Is “hisself” a correct English word?

Hisself is generally not considered correct in standard English. It may appear in regional dialects or informal speech, but himself is the standard form used in formal writing.

2. Which is correct, “himself” or “hisself”?

Himself is the correct choice in standard English. It is the proper reflexive pronoun used when referring back to a male person or animal.

3. Why do people say “hisself”?

People may say hisself because it occurs in certain regional dialects and informal varieties of English. Its familiar sound does not make it standard for formal writing.

4. Is “hisself” acceptable in casual speech?

You may hear hisself in casual or regional speech, and listeners can usually understand it. However, himself remains the safer choice in standard English.

5. Is “himself” a pronoun?

Yes. Himself is a reflexive pronoun. It refers back to a male subject that has already been mentioned or understood.

6. Should “him self” be written as two words?

No. The standard spelling is himself, written as one word. “Him self” is not the correct standard spelling.

7. Can “hisself” be used in formal writing?

It is best to avoid hisself in formal writing. Use himself instead when writing essays, reports, professional documents, or other standard English.

8. Why does “hisself” sound natural to some speakers?

Language develops differently across regions and communities. Regular exposure to a dialect can make hisself feel natural even though standard English uses himself.

9. Is “hisself” an old form of “himself”?

Hisself has appeared in historical and dialectal varieties of English. Its existence in older or regional usage does not make it the standard form today.

10. How can I remember the correct form?

A simple rule is to choose himself whenever you are using standard English. Remember that the correct reflexive form is himself, not hisself.

Conclusion

The difference between himself and hisself becomes much easier once you separate standard English from regional or informal speech. Himself is the accepted reflexive pronoun in standard English and works naturally in both everyday communication and formal writing.

Hisself can still appear in conversations, dialects, historical texts, and informal language. That explains why the word may sound familiar to some speakers. However, familiarity does not make it the preferred form in standard written English.

For students, writers, and English learners, choosing himself is the simplest way to avoid confusion. It is the form you should normally use when referring back to a male person or animal, particularly in academic and professional writing.

Once you recognize that hisself is mainly associated with dialectal or nonstandard usage, the choice becomes straightforward. When in doubt, use himself and keep your writing clear, accurate, and consistent with standard English.