:: COMPARE ::
The short answer
'The I' is what das Ich actually says, and 'self' is the nearest ordinary English for it. 'Ego' is what English made of it — and because the Latin sounded like a diagnosis rather than a pronoun, 'big ego' became a character judgement in a way 'big I' never could.
Side by side
| Aspect | Ego | Self |
|---|---|---|
| Freud's own word | No | Closer |
| Register | Clinical | Ordinary |
| Carries judgement | Yes | No |
| Falsifiable as theory | Contested | n/a |
What each one means
In ordinary English, self-regard — a sense English had by 1891, on its own. In philosophy since 1707, the self: that which feels, acts and thinks. In Freud, simply 'the I' — the part of the mind negotiating between drives, conscience and reality, and the Latin was his translator's word, not his.
Full definition of Ego →The contrast above sets out how Self differs from Ego on the points that actually matter.