This article clarifies the definition between suicide attempts verse deliberate self harm. It also examines the importance in the study of suicide to recognize the two syndromes of self-harm, namely suicide attempt & non-fatal deliberate self-harm when death was not intended. In the former syndrome, the act is designed to be fatal & any survival is accidental. In the latter, the act is designed not to be fatal & so any death is accidental. The article concludes with the importance of clarifying the two definitions. (4 refs.) (AK)