себя
«Себя» is a reflexive object pronoun: it means the same thing as the subject of the verb (or the implied subject, if the sentence doesn’t contain a subject):
- Посмотри на себя! = Look at yourself!
- Мы не думали о себе. = We didn’t think about ourselves.
- Он говорит сам с собой. = He is talking to himself («сам с собой» is just more idiomatic here)
Note that, as usual for pronouns, it is often found before the verb. Its declension pattern is the same as for «меня» or «тебя». Since it can’t be the subject of the sentence, it doesn’t have a Nominative form.
It is also used with some verbs:
- чувствовать себя = to feel (a certain way)
- представить (себе) = to imagine
- вести себя = to behave
- брать с собой = to take along (“with yourself”)
- выходить из себя = to lose one’s temper
(«с собой» is generally used to express having something with you or “on one’s person”, not only with “брать”)
Remember the «Мы у друга»-structures? They work here, too:
- Я у себя. = I am at my place.
- Мы у себя дома. = We are at (our) home.
Other
- reflexive verbs for some actions (often harmful) typical of a subject: Собака кусается = The dog bites.
It often works for animals and people (to scratch, to butt, to swear). However, in a sense, it is also the meaning in “Книга легко читается”, which corresponds to “The book is easy to read”, i.e. usually it “is read” without difficulty (by whoever reads it).
- про себя = “to oneself” (as opposed to “aloud”)
- сам по себе = on its own
- само собой (разумеется) = “it goes without saying”
- Мне не по себе. = I feel uneasy/sick/uncomfortable.