selbst
German, adverb
selbst is spelled S-E-L-B-S-T (6 letters) and appears 794 times per million words in written German, the 125th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Selbst is a German adverb meaning “even” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Selbst is a different word: “the self”.
What does selbst mean in English?
particle
- 1
personally, by oneself
Du hast es selbst zugegeben.
adverb
- 1
even
Selbst du hast es zugegeben.
noun
- 1
neuterthe self
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
pronoun: 1. persönlich (immer in Kontrast zu anderen Möglichkeiten, die im Kontext enthalten sind) 2. allein, ohne fremde Hilfe
particle: 1. auch, sogar (auch hier ist immer Kontrast zu anderen Möglichkeiten nötig)
noun: 1. die eigene Person in ihrer Gesamtheit
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
English words that translate to selbst
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is selbst in German?
selbst appears 794 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).