Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): A veces dudo de mí mismo cuando hablo español en público. - Sometimes I doubt myself when I speak Spanish in public.

Without de, dudar usually means to hesitate (dudar en hacer algo = to hesitate to do something), or you’ll hear set expressions like lo dudo (I doubt it).

So:

✅ Dudo de mí mismo. = I doubt myself.
❌ Dudo mí mismo. (wrong; it’s missing the required de)

What’s the difference between mí and mi here?

The accent mark changes the meaning:

mí (with accent) = stressed pronoun me / myself
- dudo de mí = I doubt myself
mi (without accent) = possessive my
- mi libro = my book
- mi español = my Spanish

In dudo de mí mismo, you need the pronoun, not the possessive, so it must be mí with an accent.

Why do we add mismo in mí mismo? Could I just say dudo de mí?

Mismo here is an intensifier that emphasizes myself:

dudo de mí = I doubt myself (grammatically correct, but a bit less common in this specific expression)
dudo de mí mismo = I doubt my own self / I really doubt myself

In practice, Spanish speakers strongly prefer dudar de mí mismo (or de mí misma) to express this idea of self-doubt. Using mismo makes it sound more natural and idiomatic.

So:

✅ A veces dudo de mí mismo… (very natural)
✅ A veces dudo de mí… (understandable, but less typical in this context)

Why is it mí mismo and not mí misma? What changes if the speaker is female?

Mismo / misma / mismos / mismas agrees in gender and number with the person it refers to.

Male speaker: mí mismo
Female speaker: mí misma

So if a woman is speaking, she would usually say:

A veces dudo de mí misma cuando hablo español en público.

If several people were speaking together (we), you’d get:

Dudamos de nosotros mismos. (group of men or mixed group)
Dudamos de nosotras mismas. (group of women)

Why is it cuando hablo español and not cuando estoy hablando español?

Spanish uses the simple present much more broadly than English.

cuando hablo español en público
= when I speak Spanish in public / whenever I speak Spanish in public (general habit or repeated situation)

Using estoy hablando would focus on a specific moment in progress:

cuando estoy hablando español y todos me miran…
= when I am speaking Spanish and everyone is looking at me…

In your sentence, you’re talking about a general tendency (sometimes this happens), so cuando hablo español is the normal, natural choice.

What exactly does A veces mean, and are there other common options?

A veces means sometimes / at times. It describes something that happens occasionally, but not always.

Very common alternatives with similar meanings:

A veces dudo de mí mismo… (sometimes)
De vez en cuando dudo de mí mismo… (once in a while, from time to time)
En ocasiones dudo de mí mismo… (on occasions; a bit more formal)

All are used in Latin America; a veces is the most neutral and frequent.

Why is español written with a lowercase e?

In Spanish, names of languages are written with a lowercase letter:

el español, el inglés, el francés, el chino

This is different from English, where language names are capitalized. So:

English: Spanish
Spanish: español

The same applies to nationalities (mexicano, colombiano, argentino, etc.): they’re lowercase in Spanish.

Could I say cuando hablo en español en público instead of cuando hablo español en público?

Yes, but there’s a nuance:

hablar español often means to speak (the language) Spanish in general.
hablar en español emphasizes the language you are using to say something at that moment.

In your sentence, both are possible and natural:

cuando hablo español en público
cuando hablo en español en público

The version without en is very common in Latin America when talking about speaking a language in general. With en, it can feel slightly more like when I speak in Spanish (instead of in English, etc.) in public, but the difference is subtle.

Does en público literally mean “in public,” and is it used like in English?

Yes, en público corresponds very closely to in public in English:

hablar en público = to speak in public / to speak in front of others
besarse en público = to kiss in public

It usually implies in front of other people, in a visible or social setting (meetings, class, the street, etc.). So:

cuando hablo español en público
= when I speak Spanish in front of other people / in public situations.

Can I change the word order and say Dudo de mí mismo a veces cuando hablo español en público?

Yes, you can move a veces, and the sentence remains correct. Word order is fairly flexible for adverbs of frequency:

All of these are grammatical:

A veces dudo de mí mismo cuando hablo español en público.
Dudo de mí mismo a veces cuando hablo español en público.
Dudo a veces de mí mismo cuando hablo español en público.

The original (A veces dudo…) is very natural and slightly smoother in everyday speech, but the others are also acceptable.

Is dudo de mí mismo the only way to say “I doubt myself” in Spanish?

It’s one of the most natural and direct ways, but there are other common expressions with similar meanings:

A veces pierdo la confianza en mí mismo.
= Sometimes I lose confidence in myself.
A veces no confío en mí mismo cuando hablo español en público.
= Sometimes I don’t trust myself when I speak Spanish in public.
A veces me siento inseguro cuando hablo español en público.
= Sometimes I feel insecure when I speak Spanish in public.

Dudar de mí mismo focuses on doubting your own ability or worth;
no confiar en mí mismo / sentirme inseguro focus more on lack of confidence / insecurity but are very close in meaning.