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How do you say " selfie" in German? Is it "das Selfie"?

Sie macht sich immer Selfies auf Facebook and MySpace.

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    Since the word did not exist in the English language ten years ago (a guess), there is no reason to assume that there is a direct translation into German.
    – Carsten S
    Jan 10, 2014 at 7:30
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    Ich höre öfters den Begriff "self shot", welcher aber natürlich alles andere als Deutsch ist.
    – Em1
    Jan 10, 2014 at 8:26

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The term Selfie is not very wide-spread in the German language. You would rather use the term "Selbstporträt" --> self-portrait

To add a bit more info: According to wiktionary, Selfie is neutral, so your above exmaples would need to be:

Sie postet auf Facebook Selfies/Selbstporträts.
Sie macht Selfies/Selbstporträts und postet sie auf Facebook und mySpace.

Since Selfie already implies that it is a picture of oneself, the

von sich selbst

Part becomes redundant.

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    Das ist ein aktueller Hype, weswegen das seltsame Wort aktuell auch durch die Medien wandert, ich würde auf jeden Fall darauf verzichten und das deutsche Wort verwenden.
    – PMF
    Jan 10, 2014 at 7:27
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    IMO there is some difference between a self portrait and a selfie. A selfie is often made in front of a mirror or with one arm extended (which is then visible in the picture). A self portrait implies somebody took more time to set up a tripod and control the lighting in a way.
    – 0x6d64
    Jan 12, 2014 at 9:01
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    From where do you take the implication that someone took time to setup a tripod and adjust settings when talking about self portraits? In my opinion, the terms are interchangeble, a selfie is only an abbreviated and derived form of self portrait.
    – SentryRaven
    Jan 12, 2014 at 10:11
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    @SentryRaven: Ok, maybe I should have said that this is what these words imply to me personally. You are also right in a sense, that selfies are a subgroup of self portraits (IMO), so the part about a tripod and lighting makes no sense. So in a nutshell: For me, a selfie is a kind of self portrait with the properties as said above. Since I can't edit my comment, I'll leave it as is.
    – 0x6d64
    Jan 12, 2014 at 12:27
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"Das Selfie" is correct. It's widespread (e.g. search on Google and you'll find many news articles containing the word) and will be easily understood.

"Selbstporträt" sounds somewhat outdated and means something different (a painting showing the painter themselves). It's far less common than "Selfie".

Basically we stopped translating most English terms a few years ago. Things like "computer", "email", "web", "smartphone", "tablet", "notebook", "yolo", "swag", "twerk" and "selfie" are just pronounced and spelled like in English.

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  • @PhilippHow do you say "to twerk" ? Twerken?
    – DerPolyglott33
    Jan 12, 2014 at 7:37
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    @DerPolyglott33 I guess so, it seems to be an established word (over 19,000 German Google results).
    – Philipp
    Jan 12, 2014 at 15:26

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