Itsemme

Itsemme is a Finnish reflexive pronoun used as an intensive form meaning “ourselves” or “we ourselves.” It is formed from the stemitse component with the first-person plural possessive suffix -mme, yielding a standalone pronoun that can function similarly to English “ourselves” in emphasis.

Usage and meaning

Itsemme serves to emphasize that a subject group performed an action without outside help or influence, often in formal, rhetorical, or emphatic contexts. It can appear in sentences where the speaker wants to stress autonomy or responsibility. In general, it marks the action as something the group did by its own effort.

Form and register

Itsemme is relatively formal or literary and is more common in written Finnish. In everyday speech, speakers typically use the two-word form “me itse” or simply rely on the verb and context to convey emphasis. Itsemme behaves like other pronouns in Finnish and can occupy the same syntactic position as non-emphatic forms, though its emphasis may affect word order for contrast or focus.

Examples

Me itsemme päätimme aloittaa projektin. (We ourselves decided to start the project.)

Hän hoiti tehtävät, ja me itsemme vastasimme loppuun. (He handled the tasks, and we ourselves carried them through.)

Origins and related terms

Itsemme reflects Finnish pronominal intensification patterns that combine the stem “itse” with a possessive-like suffix to form a standalone pronoun. Related forms include “itse” (myself, yourself, himself, etc.) and “itsensä” (third-person reflexive). In contemporary usage, many speakers prefer the two-word form “me itse” for clarity.

See also

Itse, itsensä, reflexive pronouns in Finnish, me (we).