watasi ha zibun de bangohan wo tukurimasu.

I make dinner by myself.

Breakdown of watasi ha zibun de bangohan wo tukurimasu.

• は: topic particle
• 私わたし: I
• を: direct object particle
• 晩ばんご飯はん: dinner
• 作つくる: to make
• 自分じぶん で: by oneself

Questions & Answers about watasi ha zibun de bangohan wo tukurimasu.

Why do we need both 私 and 自分で? Don’t they both mean “myself / I”?

They do different jobs.

• 私 (わたし) = I / me (the topic of the sentence)
• 自分で (じぶんで) = by myself / on my own (how the action is done)

So the structure is:

• 私 は = as for me / I
• 自分で = by myself
• 晩ご飯 を 作ります = (I) make dinner

If you remove 私, you still keep “by myself”:

• 自分で晩ご飯を作ります。
  “(I) make dinner by myself.”

If you remove 自分で, you lose the “by myself” nuance:

• 私 は 晩ご飯 を 作ります。
  “I make dinner.” (no information about whether you do it alone or not)

So 私 tells who, and 自分で tells how (in what manner).

What exactly does 自分で mean, and how is it formed?

自分で (じぶんで) literally breaks down as:

• 自分 = oneself / oneself’s own
• で = a particle often meaning “by / with / using / in”

Together:

• 自分で = “by oneself,” “on one’s own,” “personally,” “without help”

In this sentence, 自分で means you are the one actually doing the cooking, not getting someone else to do it or buying ready-made food.

Examples:

• この机は自分で作りました。
  “I made this desk myself.”
• 宿題は自分でやってください。
  “Do your homework by yourself, please.”

What’s the difference between 自分で and 一人で? Could I say 一人で晩ご飯を作ります?

You can say 一人で晩ご飯を作ります, but the nuance is slightly different.

• 自分で = by oneself / by one’s own effort
  Focus: you did it yourself (not someone else).
• 一人で (ひとりで) = alone, by oneself (without company)
  Focus: you are physically alone.

In many cases they overlap:

• 自分で晩ご飯を作ります。
  Emphasis: I cook it myself (instead of, for example, my mom or a restaurant).

• 一人で晩ご飯を作ります。
  Emphasis: I cook dinner alone (not together with friends or family).

Sometimes only one sounds natural, depending on what you want to say:

• “I went to the movies alone.” → 一人で映画を見に行きました。 (not 自分で)
• “I fixed the computer myself.” → パソコンは自分で直しました。 (not 一人で in normal usage)

Why is the particle は used after 私, and not が?

は (wa) marks the topic, while が (ga) usually marks the subject (often new, focused, or contrastive information).

• 私 は 自分で晩ご飯を作ります。
  As for me, I make dinner by myself.
  → Neutral, typical way to state “I make dinner by myself.”

If you used が:

• 私 が 自分で晩ご飯を作ります。
  This sounds more like: “I am the one who makes dinner myself (not somebody else).”

So が adds a feeling of emphasizing or contrasting 私, as if answering:

• “Who makes dinner?” → 私が自分で晩ご飯を作ります。

Can I drop 私? Would 自分で晩ご飯を作ります。 still be correct?

Yes, and it’s very natural.

Japanese often omits pronouns like “I,” “you,” “he,” “she” if they are clear from context.

• 自分で晩ご飯を作ります。
  → “I make dinner by myself.” (if you’re talking about yourself)

In everyday conversation, people would often say this without 私.
You only need 私 if you want to be explicit or contrast yourself with others.

Why is the particle で used after 自分? What does 自分で function as in the sentence?

In this sentence, で marks the means / method / manner of the action.

• バスで行きます。 = I go by bus.
• 日本語で書きます。 = I write in Japanese.
• 自分で作ります。 = I make it by myself (by my own effort).

So 自分で is an adverbial phrase describing how you make dinner:
“by yourself / personally / on your own.”

Can I change the word order? For example, is 晩ご飯を自分で作ります also OK?

Yes, that word order is perfectly natural:

• 私 は 自分 で 晩ご飯 を 作ります。
• 私 は 晩ご飯 を 自分 で 作ります。

Both mean the same thing: “I make dinner by myself.”

Japanese word order is more flexible than English, as long as:

• The verb is at the end.
• The particles (は, を, で, etc.) stay attached to the right words.

Different orders can give slight emphasis differences, but in this simple sentence they are both fine.

Does 作ります here mean specifically “cook,” or just “make”?

Literally, 作ります (つくります) means “make” / “create.”

In the context of food, 作る almost always implies “to cook / to prepare (a meal)”, not just “assemble.”

So:

• 晩ご飯を作ります。
  → “I cook dinner.” / “I make dinner.”

If you wanted to be very explicit about cooking, you could also say:

• 晩ご飯を料理します。
  But in everyday Japanese, 晩ご飯を作ります is what people normally say.

Is this sentence present tense or future tense? Does it mean “I make dinner (usually)” or “I will make dinner”?

Japanese -ます / -る forms are non-past; they cover both:

• present/habitual: “I (usually) make dinner.”
• future: “I will make dinner.”

So 私 は 自分 で 晩ご飯 を 作ります。 can mean:

• Habit: “I (typically) make dinner by myself.”
• Future: “I’ll make dinner myself.” (for example, in response to “Who will cook tonight?”)

Context and tone decide which meaning is intended.

Is 晩ご飯 the only way to say “dinner”? What about 夕ご飯 or 夕食?

All are used, with slight differences in style:

• 晩ご飯 (ばんごはん)
  Very common, everyday word for dinner / evening meal.
  Casual/neutral.

• 夕ご飯 (ゆうごはん)
  Also “evening meal.” Similar to 晩ご飯, but 晩ご飯 is more common in many areas.

• 夕食 (ゆうしょく)
  More formal / written / polite. Often used in hotels, hospitals, schedules, etc.

You could say:

• 私 は 自分 で 夕ご飯 を 作ります。
• 私 は 自分 で 夕食 を 作ります。

They’re all correct; 晩ご飯 just sounds the most everyday-conversational.

Why is を used after 晩ご飯?

を (o) marks the direct object of the verb—the thing that directly receives the action.

Pattern:

• [object] を [verb]

In this sentence:

• 晩ご飯 = dinner (the thing being made)
• 作ります = make
• 晩ご飯 を 作ります = (I) make dinner.

Other examples:

• 本 を 読みます。 = I read a book.
• 手紙 を 書きます。 = I write a letter.

Can 自分 refer to people other than “myself”? For example, could it mean “himself” or “herself”?

Yes. 自分 is flexible and can mean myself / yourself / himself / herself / ourselves / themselves, depending on context.

Examples:

• Speaking about yourself:
  自分で晩ご飯を作ります。
  → “I make dinner by myself.”

• Talking about someone else:
  彼は自分で晩ご飯を作ります。
  → “He makes dinner by himself.”

• General instruction:
  答えは自分で考えてください。
  → “Please think of the answer yourself.”

Japanese doesn’t change the word (like myself / himself); context decides whose “self” it is.