How to pronounce "themselve" in English
ðɛmˈsɛlv
dhem·SELV
Primary stress: SELV
Hear native speakers say themselve in context across real video clips
Linguistic Pronunciation Masterclass: “themselve”
Phonetic mechanics, syllable architecture, and conversational cadence
Syllable Architecture & Stress Distribution
dhem
Reduced vowel sound, relaxed jaw, and minimal vocal effort.
SELV
Elevated pitch, sustained vowel length, and full acoustic clarity.
Primary emphasis falls on the second syllable ("SELV"). Raise your pitch and sustain the vowel length on this syllable while relaxing the surrounding syllables.
Common Pronunciation Traps & Learner Mistakes
The Trap: Many learners substitute "th" with "s", "z", "t", or "d".
How Native Speakers Say It: Place the flat blade of your tongue lightly between your upper and lower incisors. Vibrate your vocal cords while pushing air through to produce ⁄ð⁄.
Connected Speech & Natural Conversational Flow
When followed by a vowel, insert a subtle glide (/w/ or /j/) to connect into the subsequent word without an abrupt glottal stop.
In natural sentences, avoid over-stressing "themselve" unless it conveys the core contrast or focal point of your message.
Authentic Spoken Quotes from Native Video Context
“There wasn’t enough support for a 12 year old who pushes themselve to the limit and then tries to kill themselves when they falter.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
“The social networkers themselve-, people in social networking sites were so active in promoting him, mobilizing their friends, hosting new groups, forming”— Native SpeakerWatch clip
“and they have one single mission to mature, rise to the top and die, sacrifice themselve in order to protect you from external insults.”— TEDx TalksWatch clip
Practice Speaking “themselve”
Listen to native pronunciation, record yourself repeating the sentence into your microphone, and receive real-time word-by-word accuracy scoring.
There wasn’t enough support for a 12 year old who pushes themselve to the limit and then tries to kill themselves when they falter.
Hear it in context: “themselve”
3 clipsThe English word “themselve” is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as ðɛmˈsɛlv (phonetic respelling: dhem-SELV). Phonologically, it consists of 2 syllables (dhem · SELV), with primary lexical stress placed on the 2nd syllable (SELV). Grammatically, “themselve” functions as a pronoun. SayItVid indexes 3 authentic English video clips demonstrating how native speakers articulate “themselve” in natural connected speech across American (US: 3 sampled), British (UK), and Australian (AUS) accents, including verified broadcasts from TEDx Talks.
Spoken Video Transcripts & Contextual Quotes (3 Verified Clips)
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #1 · @7:41
“I didn't work with them anymore. There wasn’t enough support for a 12 year old who pushes themselve to the limit and then tries to kill themselves when they falter. and then tries to kill themselves when they falter.”
- 🇺🇸 USClip #2 · @57:53
“and so it would be interesting to see in 2012 whether that first glimmer, and particularly among social networkers. The social networkers themselve-, people in social networking sites were so active in promoting him, mobilizing their friends, hosting new groups, forming were so active in promoting him, mobilizing their friends, hosting new groups, forming”
- 🇺🇸 USTEDx TalksClip #3 · @4:16
“by the basal epidermal stem cells, and they have one single mission to mature, rise to the top and die, sacrifice themselve in order to protect you from external insults. rise to the top and die,”
Definition & Meaning: “themselve”
- A nonstandard variant of the reflexive or emphatic pronoun themselves.
Example Sentences (3)
- “They decided to fix the broken fence themselve.”
- “There wasn’t enough support for a 12 year old who pushes themselve to the limit and then tries to kill themselves when they falter.”
- “among social networkers. The social networkers themselve-, people in social networking sites were so active in promoting him, mobilizing their friends, hosting ”
Common Phrases & Collocations
Pronounce: “themselve”
- Pronunciation:
- dhem-SELV
- Syllables:
- dhem · SELV
- Written Hyphenation:
- them · selve
- Primary stress:
- SELV
- IPA:
- ðɛmˈsɛlv
- Hear it in context
- themselve
Words that Rhyme with “themselve”
-ɛlvWords that Sound Identical (Homophones)
Unique Sound"themselve" (⁄ðɛmˈsɛlv⁄) has no true homophones in standard English — there are no other words with identical pronunciation. Unlike sound-alike pairs like there / their or peace / piece, "themselve" has a completely distinct phonetic identity.
Frequently asked questions about themselve
How do you pronounce “themselve”?
“themselve” is pronounced ⁄ðɛmˈsɛlv⁄ (dhem-SELV). Listen to the native-speaker clips above to hear it in real conversation.
How many syllables are in “themselve”?
“themselve” has 2 syllables: dhem · SELV.
Where is the stress in “themselve”?
The primary stress in “themselve” is on “SELV”. Listen for that stressed syllable in the clips above.
What does “themselve” mean?
A nonstandard variant of the reflexive or emphatic pronoun themselves.
How can I hear “themselve” used in real sentences?
This page has 3 real-world video examples of “themselve” with synchronized subtitles. Use Previous / Next (or ← / → keys) to hear each one at the exact moment it is spoken.
What is the most common pronunciation mistake when saying “themselve”?
Many learners substitute "th" with "s", "z", "t", or "d". Place the flat blade of your tongue lightly between your upper and lower incisors. Vibrate your vocal cords while pushing air through to produce ⁄ð⁄.