What are the uses for "ou menm" (and nou menm by extension)? I know it can mean "yourself?" Such as in "byen e ou menm?", but I've heard it in a lot of statements in videos on RTG Haiti.

Ou menm does not only translate a reflexive pronoun. Sometimes it may act as a subject pronoun, sometimes it  puts emphasis on the pronoun (as in Ou menm menm), sometimes it could mean your own (as in Se fòt ou menm It's your own fault), and sometimes it could mean as for you (as in Ou menm menm as for you)

See the following examples:
mwen menm →  I, me, myself, my own, as for me
ou menm → yourself, your own, as for you
li menm → him, himself,  she, her herself
nou menm → us, ourselves, our own, as for us
yo menm  → them, themselves, their own, as for them


1. Ou menm avè'm va kondi machin nan.
    You and I will drive the car.

2. Ou achte yon sèl kola?!  E mwen menm?  Kisa'm va bwè?
    Did you buy just one soda?!  What about me?  What will I drink?

3. Mwen byen.  E ou menm?
    I'm fine.  How about you?

4. Se mwen menm ki nan pòt la!  Kite'm antre.
    It's me at the door!  Let me in.

5. Se  ou menm menm ki te di sa.
    It was none other but you that said that.

6. Se ou menm menm ki dwe chwazi moun ou vle marye a.
    It's none other but you that must choose the person you want to marry.

7. Se nou menm menm ki dwe chanje sitiyasyon peyi a.
    It is none other but us that must change the country's condition.

8. Nou menm menm, kisa nou vle?
    As for you, what do you want?

9. Yo menm menm, kilè yo va aprann ede tèt yo?
    As for them, when will the learn to support themselves?

10. Se kay mwen menm ki te boule a.
      It is my own house that got burned.

11. Se pitit mwen menm yo te arete a.
      It was my own child that got arrested.

Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words

Using Reflexive Pronouns - Myself, Yourself, Himself...

Download link for this audio clip: http://limanecasimi.audioacrobat.com/download/300b085e-b54d-2ede-f0c7-81c57649bc40.mp3

Click on the play button, listen and follow along




Bonjou, Kouman nou ye?
Hello, how are you?

self - tèt (literally means "head")

When using"tèt" to translate a reflexive pronoun, be sure to add the corresponding Haitian Creole pronoun.
For example,
myself - tèt mwen
yourself - tèt ou
him/her/it -self - tèt li
ourselves - tèt nou
yourselves - tèt nou
themselves - tèt yo

Example:

1.  Mwen renmen tèt mwen.
     I love myself. 

2.  Li rayi tèt li.
     She hates herself.

3.  Fòk ou defann tèt ou.
     You must defend yourself.

4.  Tanpri, pa bay tèt ou pwoblèm
     Please, don't trouble yourself.

5.  Respekte tèt ou.
     Respect yourself.

6.  Li gade tèt li nan glas chak sen minit.
     She looks at herself in the mirror every five minutes.

7.  Ede tèt ou,  e Bondye va ede w.
     Help yourself, and God will help you.

8.  Ou te fè byen.  Bay tèt ou kouraj.
    You did well.  Give yourself credit.

9.  Ede m. M fèmen tèt mwen deyò.
     Help me. I locked myself out.

10. M dwe pran swen tèt mwen.
     I must take care of myself.

That's all, thank you and,

Pran swen tèt ou ☺
Take care of yourself☺

Click on this link to see other ways to translate reflexive pronouns.