To speak aloud when alone, addressing oneself rather than another person.
To say things out loud when no one else is listening — like when you're alone and you say your thoughts out loud.
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To say words aloud when alone, directing speech at oneself rather than another person.
"She caught herself talking to herself while trying to solve the maths problem."
To be, or not to be, that is the question.
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1 (Hamlet's soliloquy — canonical example of a character talking to himself)
Used figuratively to describe a situation where one's efforts to communicate are ignored, as if no one is listening.
"I've asked them three times to fix the printer — I feel like I'm talking to myself!"
This is a fixed reflexive expression; the reflexive pronoun must agree with the subject (talk to myself, talk to herself, etc.). Can refer to a harmless habit, an expression of frustration, or — in context — a sign of distraction or eccentricity.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "talk to oneself" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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