自みずから

み

ず

か

ら

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

Meanings

Used as a noun to refer to oneself, often in formal or literary contexts. Can be used with の to mean 'one's own'.

Adverbial use meaning doing something oneself, without relying on others. Often implies initiative or direct involvement.

〈人ひと〉自みずから〈動どう詞し〉for someone to do something personally, without delegating it
社しゃ長ちょう自みずから現げん場ばを確かく認にんした。
The president personally inspected the site.
自みずからを〈動どう詞し〉to direct an action reflexively at oneself
彼かれは失しっ敗ぱいした自みずからを責せめた。
He blamed himself for failing.

自じ分ぶんN5sense 1
自分 is the everyday, neutral word for 'oneself', while 自ら is more formal and stresses personal initiative or direct involvement.
自じ身しんN3sense 1
自身 attaches after a noun or pronoun to emphasize 'itself/himself' (彼自身), whereas 自ら stands alone and can also be used adverbially.
自じ主しゅ的てきN1sense 2
自主的 describes acting on one's own initiative as an adjective ('自主的な行動'), while 自ら is an adverb/noun used directly before a verb ('自ら行動する').
自じ分ぶんでN5
自ら is a more formal, literary way to say the same thing as the everyday spoken 自分で.

Show 3 more

好このんで
自ら highlights that the person acted in person/on their own initiative, whereas 好んで highlights that they did so out of personal preference or liking.
自じ分ぶん自じ身しん
自ら is a more literary word stressing that one does something personally or on one's own initiative, while 自分自身 simply emphasizes the self as an entity.
進すすむN4
自ら is an adverb meaning 'on one's own initiative', close to the meaning of 進んで (from 進む) when doing something voluntarily.

他た人にんN3sense 1
他人 means 'other people', the natural opposite of 自ら when it refers to oneself as distinct from others.
やむを得えずN2
やむを得ず describes acting without choice under pressure, while 自ら describes acting voluntarily and of one's own will.

自おのずからN1
自ずから looks and sounds similar to 自ら but means 'naturally, of itself' (without anyone's action), whereas 自ら means 'oneself, personally'.

自みずからUsage81%
Standard kanji spelling; high priority.
みずからUsage19%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji is not needed.

Compound of 自 (み, 'self') + ずから (archaic adverbial particle meaning 'from'). The reading みずから is a shift from みずから.