theyselves
A nonstandard or dialectal reflexive pronoun used in place of 'themselves,' common in AAVE (African American Vernacular English) and various regional dialects across the US and UK.
Definitions
A nonstandard or dialectal reflexive pronoun used in place of 'themselves,' common in AAVE (African American Vernacular English) and various regional dialects across the US and UK. It follows a consistent internal logic — paralleling 'myself,' 'yourself,' 'himself,' and 'herself' by using the subject pronoun form rather than the possessive. In AAVE in particular, it is a fully functional grammatical feature rather than an error, and appears in both spoken and written vernacular expression.
They did it all theyselves without asking for help from anybody.
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(nonstandard, dialect, or, AAVE) themselves.
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🎤About Black culture & AAVE slang
Slang from Black American Vernacular English (AAVE), hip-hop, drag and ballroom culture, the Caribbean, and NYC street vocabulary. The single largest source of new mainstream English slang in living memory.
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- theyself86%
Theyself is the AAVE reflexive form of the singular gender-neutral pronoun they — meaning themselves when referring to one person. As singular they has gone mainstream for gender-neutral reference, theyself offers a natural reflexive companion. It fills a genuine grammatical gap and reflects the organic way language communities adapt pronoun systems. You'll hear it in AAVE-rooted speech and increasingly in everyday informal English from younger speakers.
- y'allself77%
AAVE second-person plural reflexive pronoun meaning 'yourselves' — a natural extension of 'y'all' into reflexive territory. It fills a grammatical gap that standard English handles awkwardly ('yourselves' feels stiff; 'y'allself' flows). You'll hear it in everyday Southern and Black American speech: 'make y'allself at home,' 'help y'allself to some food.' It's intuitive, grammatically logical within the AAVE system, and captures the warmth of Southern hospitality speech perfectly. Social media has given it wider visibility beyond regional use.
- urselves70%
(reflexive pronoun, Internet slang, text messaging) yourselves.
- theyself70%
(AAVE) Themselves.