himself

IPA /hɪmˈsɛlf/ Syllables 2 · hihm·sehlf Stress 2nd syllable
hihm·SEHLF
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Americans pronounce himself as hihm-SEHLF (/hɪmˈsɛlf/). Stress falls on the second syllable — keep everything else short and quick.

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Sounds
75%
Clarity
68%
Stress
78%
Intonation
65%
Fluency
62%

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72% Noticeable accent

Common mistakes

Treating every L the same.

The L in "himself" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch SEHLF — keep everything else short and quick.

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Why it sounds different

Why "himself" sounds like hihm·SEHLF.

The "" at the end of "" flows directly into the vowel starting "" — the consonant migrates to the next word with no pause between. This is called the Consonant-to-Vowel Linking, a connected-speech trick that makes phrases flow. It comes out as hihm·SEHLF.

In real conversation

Hear "himself" in the wild.

Click any sentence to see the full breakdown — every link, every reduction, every flap-T.

"He fixed the leaky faucet himself to save on repair costs."
hee FIHKST dhuh LEE·kee FAH·suht hihm·SEHLF tuh SAYV ahn ruh·PAIR KAHSTS
"He gets frustrated when he cannot express himself clearly."
hee GEHTS FRUH·stray·duhd wehn hee KA·naht uhk·SPREHS hihm·SEHLF KLEER·lee
"He tried to pull himself out of the pool using a pole."
hee TRAHYD tuh PUUL hihm·SEHLF OWT uhv dhuh POOL YOO·zuhng uh POHL
Same pattern

Words that work the same way.

All of these share phonetic features with this word — same trick.

her·SEHLFherselfmahy·SEHLFmyselfHARM·fuhlharmfulHART·FEHLTheartfeltHEHLP·fuhlhelpfulHEHL·muhthelmetFIHLMfilmFIHLMDfilmed
Watch out

Common pronunciation mistakes in American English.

The textbook way isn't wrong — it's just not how anyone actually says it.

01

Treating every L the same.

The L in "himself" is a dark L — the back of the tongue rises toward the soft palate, adding a small "uh" quality before the L. Dark L adds a small schwa-like "uh" before the L. The back of the tongue lifts toward the soft palate.

himself→hihm·SEHLF
02

Stressing the wrong syllable.

Stress falls on the second syllable, not the others. Stretch SEHLF — keep everything else short and quick.

HIHM·sehlf→hihm·SEHLF
Questions

Questions people ask about this.

How is "himself" stressed in American English?
Stress falls on the second syllable — say "SEHLF" with a longer, fuller vowel and keep every other syllable short and quick. The respell "hihm-SEHLF" marks the stressed syllable in capitals so the rhythm is easy to read at a glance.
Is the American pronunciation of "himself" different from British English?
American English uses different vowel shapes, a relaxed retroflex R, and connected-speech tricks like flap-T and glottal-stop T that British Received Pronunciation generally avoids. The respell "hihm-SEHLF" reflects the casual American form; British dictionaries typically print a citation form with crisper consonants and different vowel choices.

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