English has a funny habit of making simple patterns look more complicated than they are. At first glance, hisself seems perfectly logical. After all, English has myself, yourself, herself, and themselves. Why wouldn’t his become hisself?
The answer lies in how English reflexive pronouns actually work. Himself is the standard English form. Hisself is a real, recorded form, but dictionaries generally label it as dialectal or nonstandard.
That distinction matters. A word can exist in real speech without being the form you should use in standard writing. In other words, hisself isn’t simply meaningless gibberish. It has a history and a place in certain varieties of English. However, if you’re writing an essay, email, report, article, application, or other standard English text, himself is the right choice.
Quick Answer
Himself is the correct standard English form.
Hisself is a recognized dialectal or nonstandard variant of himself. It can occur in regional speech, informal language, fictional dialogue, quoted speech, or writing that intentionally represents a particular dialect.
Compare these sentences:
- Standard: He repaired the car himself.
- Nonstandard/dialectal: He repaired the car hisself.
Both forms communicate essentially the same meaning. The difference is standard usage and register.
For ordinary writing, choose himself.
The standard reflexive pattern is:
he → him → himself
Not:
he → his → hisself
Merriam-Webster lists hisself as a dialectal form of himself, while Dictionary.com identifies it as nonstandard. The American Heritage Dictionary also discusses hisself as a regional form associated particularly with Southern and South Midland American English.
Bottom line: If you’re wondering which spelling to use, himself is almost certainly the answer.
Comparison Overview
| Feature | Hisself | Himself |
| Standard English | No | Yes |
| Basic meaning | Himself | Himself |
| Grammatical role | Reflexive/emphatic form in nonstandard or dialectal usage | Standard reflexive/emphatic pronoun |
| Dictionary status | Recorded as dialectal/nonstandard | Standard |
| Formal writing | Generally avoid | Recommended |
| Academic writing | Generally avoid | Recommended |
| Business writing | Generally avoid | Recommended |
| Everyday standard English | Not normally used | Normal choice |
| Regional speech | May occur | Yes |
| Fictional dialogue | Can be appropriate | Can be appropriate |
| Deliberate dialect representation | Sometimes useful | Depends on the dialect |
| Best choice for general writing | No | Yes |
One important point deserves emphasis: “nonstandard” doesn’t mean “fake.”
Dictionaries often record words and forms that speakers genuinely use. Their job isn’t to pretend language has only one variety. Instead, dictionaries describe how words function, including regional, historical, informal, and dialectal forms.
That means hisself can be a genuine part of someone’s speech while still being inappropriate in standard formal writing.
What Does Himself Mean?
Himself is the standard reflexive pronoun associated with he.
A reflexive pronoun generally refers back to another noun or pronoun in the sentence. When the antecedent is he, the corresponding reflexive form is himself.
Consider:
James blamed himself for the mistake.
The word himself refers back to James. James is the person doing the blaming and the person receiving the action.
Here are some more examples:
- Michael taught himself to play guitar.
- Daniel accidentally cut himself while cooking.
- He introduced himself to the new neighbors.
- The boy looked at himself in the mirror.
- Robert reminded himself to call his mother.
The basic relationship is easy to remember:
He → him → himself
The first form is the subject pronoun. The second is the object pronoun. The third is the reflexive form.
Himself as a Reflexive Pronoun
The most familiar use of himself occurs when someone performs an action that comes back to that same person.
For example:
He hurt himself.
The sentence doesn’t mean that he hurt another man. It means the person represented by he also experienced the action.
Another example:
David congratulated himself after finishing the race.
David performed the action and David received it.
This is why himself belongs to the reflexive-pronoun family.
Himself for Emphasis
There is another important use. Himself can add emphasis without functioning as a simple reflexive object.
Consider:
The manager himself approved the proposal.
The word himself emphasizes that the manager personally approved it.
You could also say:
He built the bookshelf himself.
Here, himself stresses that he personally did the work rather than having someone else do it.
This emphatic use is common in everyday English.
Compare:
He cooked dinner.
with:
He cooked dinner himself.
The second sentence puts a spotlight on the fact that he personally prepared the meal.
Common Expressions With Himself
You will also encounter himself in several established expressions.
By himself can mean alone or without assistance:
He completed the project by himself.
To himself can indicate something kept exclusively for his own use or thoughts:
He kept the information to himself.
Not himself can describe someone who isn’t behaving in their usual way:
He’s been quiet all morning. He doesn’t seem himself.
All by himself adds emphasis to the idea of being alone:
The child walked home all by himself.
These are standard constructions. There is no need to replace himself with hisself.
Why Does Hisself Sound So Logical?
Here’s where the story gets interesting.
If you know English reflexive pronouns, hisself can look completely reasonable.
Consider:
- my + self = myself
- your + self = yourself
- her + self = herself
- our + selves = ourselves
- their + selves = themselves
From that perspective, someone might naturally reason:
his + self = hisself
It looks tidy. It follows an apparent pattern.
But English doesn’t always reward tidy reasoning.
The standard form is based on him, not his:
he → him → himself
That’s the key.
The Problem With the Pattern
English has several different forms associated with a personal pronoun.
For he, we have:
| Function | Form |
| Subject | he |
| Object | him |
| Possessive determiner | his |
| Possessive pronoun | his |
| Reflexive | himself |
The reflexive form doesn’t derive from the possessive form his.
That’s why:
He blamed himself.
is standard English.
But:
He blamed hisself.
is not standard English.
The second sentence applies a pattern that seems logical but doesn’t match the established reflexive form.
Main Differences Between Hisself and Himself
The biggest difference between hisself vs himself isn’t their basic meaning. Both can refer to a male person in the same general way.
The real difference concerns standardness, register, and context.
Himself Is the Standard Form
If you need the conventional English reflexive pronoun for he, use himself.
Examples:
- He blamed himself.
- John introduced himself.
- Mark taught himself Spanish.
- The actor described himself as an optimist.
- He completed the work himself.
These forms work in virtually every standard English setting.
Hisself Is Dialectal or Nonstandard
Hisself appears in some regional and vernacular varieties of English.
It can also appear when writers deliberately reproduce the speech of a particular character.
For example:
“He done it hisself,” the character said.
Whether that sentence is appropriate depends on the writer’s purpose. If the dialogue intentionally represents a particular dialect, changing hisself to himself could actually remove part of the character’s voice.
However, if you’re simply writing a standard sentence, there’s little reason to use it.
The Difference Is Mostly About Register
Consider these two sentences:
He fixed the fence himself.
He fixed the fence hisself.
The basic message is the same. The second sentence immediately sounds nonstandard or dialectal to many readers.
That’s why context matters.
In a formal report, hisself looks like an error. In carefully constructed fictional dialogue, it may be an intentional linguistic choice.
Is “Hisself” Grammatically Correct?
The best answer requires a little nuance.
Hisself isn’t the standard English reflexive form of he.
Therefore, if a teacher asks you to use Standard English or you’re writing a formal document, use himself.
For example:
- ❌ He introduced hisself to the committee.
- ✅ He introduced himself to the committee.
- ❌ The employee blamed hisself for the mistake.
- ✅ The employee blamed himself for the mistake.
- ❌ James taught hisself how to code.
- ✅ James taught himself how to code.
That said, calling hisself simply “wrong” can hide an important linguistic fact. Speakers of regional dialects may use it systematically rather than randomly.
When Hisself Can Be Appropriate
There are situations where hisself can make sense.
Fictional Dialogue
A novelist might use hisself to represent the way a particular character speaks.
“I built that cabin hisself,” the old man said.
The exact sentence might require other dialect features depending on the intended voice. The important point is that hisself can contribute to characterization.
Quoted Speech
If you’re accurately quoting someone who used hisself, changing the word could alter the quotation.
For example:
The witness said, “He fixed it hisself.”
In a genuine quotation, preserving the speaker’s original wording may matter.
Linguistic Research
Researchers studying dialects may document hisself precisely because people use it.
In that setting, the word isn’t an error to eliminate. It’s data.
Read More: Analyze or Analyse: Which Spelling Is Correct?
Why Do People Say “Hisself” Instead of “Himself”?
Language doesn’t always grow according to the rules found in grammar textbooks.
One reason hisself exists is that speakers can regularize irregular patterns.
English reflexive pronouns aren’t perfectly predictable. A learner or speaker may notice:
her → herself
and assume:
his → hisself
The pattern feels natural.
The standard language simply settled on himself instead.
English Contains Plenty of Irregular Patterns
This isn’t unusual.
English contains many forms that learners have to memorize rather than calculate.
For example:
- go → went
- good → better
- child → children
- mouse → mice
- person → people
You can’t always create the correct form by applying one universal rule.
The same principle applies to reflexive pronouns.
Himself is the established standard form even though hisself might seem more symmetrical.
Hisself vs Himself in Different Contexts
Context makes the choice much easier.
| Situation | Best Choice |
| School assignment | Himself |
| College essay | Himself |
| Professional email | Himself |
| Resume | Himself |
| Business report | Himself |
| News writing | Himself |
| General website content | Himself |
| Everyday standard conversation | Himself |
| Fictional dialect | Hisself may be appropriate |
| Direct quotation | Hisself may be retained |
| Dialect research | Hisself may be appropriate |
| Historical language discussion | Hisself may appear |
This leads to a simple rule:
Use himself for standard English. Use hisself only when the nonstandard or dialectal form serves a clear purpose.
Common Mistakes With Hisself and Himself
Mistake: Assuming His Should Become Hisself
This is probably the most understandable mistake.
You might think:
his + self = hisself
But the standard reflexive form doesn’t follow that construction.
Instead:
he → him → himself
The object form him provides the base for the standard reflexive pronoun.
Mistake: Thinking Hisself Is Always a Spelling Error
That’s too simplistic.
If someone writes hisself in a formal essay, correcting it to himself makes sense.
However, if a novelist writes hisself in dialogue to represent a character’s speech, automatically changing it could damage the intended voice.
The context tells you whether the form is an error or a deliberate linguistic feature.
Mistake: Assuming a Dictionary Entry Means Standard Usage
This is a particularly common misunderstanding.
Dictionaries contain much more than formal Standard English.
They document:
- Regional words
- Dialectal forms
- Slang
- Historical terms
- Informal expressions
- Nonstandard variants
- Specialized terminology
Therefore, dictionary inclusion doesn’t automatically mean “use this in every formal context.”
The label attached to the word matters.
Mistake: Using Hisself in Professional Writing
Imagine this sentence in a business report:
The director reviewed the proposal hisself.
Most readers would regard hisself as an error or an unusual dialect choice.
The professional version is:
The director reviewed the proposal himself.
There’s no advantage to using hisself here.
Case Study: How Context Changes the Choice
Imagine two writers using almost identical sentences.
Example One: Business Report
The manager inspected the equipment himself.
This sounds natural and professional.
Now change it:
The manager inspected the equipment hisself.
The second version draws attention to the word rather than the meaning. In a business document, that distraction serves no useful purpose.
Example Two: Fiction
Now imagine a novelist creating a character whose speech consistently uses regional forms:
“Nobody helped me,” Earl said. “I built the whole thing hisself.”
Here, hisself may be part of the character’s voice.
The author isn’t necessarily claiming that hisself is Standard English. The spelling can signal something about how the character speaks.
This illustrates an important principle:
A nonstandard form can be inappropriate in exposition while being perfectly useful in dialogue.
FAQs:
Is “hisself” a real word?
Yes. Hisself is a recorded word, but dictionaries generally identify it as dialectal or nonstandard.
Is “hisself” grammatically correct?
It isn’t the standard English reflexive form of he. In standard English, use himself.
Is “himself” the correct spelling?
Yes. Himself is the standard spelling and form.
Why isn’t it “hisself”?
Because the standard reflexive pronoun corresponds to the object form him, producing himself.
The standard sequence is:
he → him → himself
Does “hisself” mean “himself”?
Yes. In dialectal or nonstandard usage, hisself generally has the same meaning as himself.
Conclusion:
When it comes to hisself vs himself, the standard choice is clear: use himself. It’s the accepted reflexive pronoun that corresponds to he, and it works naturally in academic, professional, formal, and everyday standard English.
Hisself isn’t simply a meaningless mistake, though. Dictionaries recognize it as a dialectal or nonstandard form that appears in some varieties of English. You may encounter it in regional speech, fictional dialogue, quotations, or linguistic discussions.
