Combustion method with self-ignition for a directly injected internal combustion engine, - wherein the internal combustion engine has at least one cylinder, the combustion chamber of which is bounded laterally by a cylinder wall and axially by a cylinder head on the one hand and by a piston displaceable by stroking in the cylinder on the other hand, - wherein the piston comprises an annular continuous piston stage, which is axially recessed in the piston relative to an annular continuous piston crown and which merges via an annular continuous jet splitter contour into a piston recess, which is axially recessed in the piston relative to the piston stage, - wherein the respective cylinder is assigned an injector located in the cylinder head, - in which method several injection jets are injected simultaneously into the combustion chamber in a star shape by means of the injector for a combustion process in the self-ignition mode, - in which method the injection jets are split at the jet splitter contour into a first sub-quantity, a second sub-quantity and third sub-quantities, - wherein the first sub-quantity enters the piston recess, the second sub-quantity enters a region between the piston crown and the cylinder head via the piston stage and the third sub-quantities spread from the respective injection jet on both sides in the circumferential direction in opposite directions along the piston stage and the respective third sub-quantities collide between two adjacent injection jets within the piston stage and are deflected radially inwards, - wherein the first sub-quantity and the second sub-quantity form a first combustion front and a second combustion front and the jointly inward-deflected sub-quantities form a third combustion front radially inwards in a gap between the injection jets, characterised in that by means of a resulting flow, substantially formed from a swirl, a pinch gap flow and a jet flow, the injection jets are diverted into a region up-jet of the jet splitter contour towards the piston, wherein the swirl is generated by the placing and the orientation of an intake port and the design of an inlet opening, by the configuration of a valve seat of an intake valve or of swirl flaps in intake ports, wherein, in the respective cylinder in the top dead centre of the piston, the pinch gap is provided axially between the piston crown and the cylinder head and has an axial height in a range of approximately 0.2% to approximately 3.0% of a piston diameter, preferably in a range of approximately 0.4% to approximately 1.2% of the piston diameter, and/or the pinch gap has a radial length in a range of approximately 6% to approximately 22% of the piston diameter, preferably in a range of approximately 9% to approximately 14% of the piston diameter, and wherein the respective injector has a plurality of injection holes for generating the injection jets and the injection holes are conical in design and taper from an inlet side towards an outlet side. - wherein the internal combustion engine has at least one cylinder, the combustion chamber of which is bounded laterally by a cylinder wall and axially by a cylinder head on the one hand and by a piston displaceable by stroking in the cylinder on the other hand, - wherein the piston comprises an annular continuous piston stage, which is axially recessed in the piston relative to an annular continuous piston crown and which merges via an annular continuous jet splitter contour into a piston recess, which is axially recessed in the piston relative to the piston stage, - wherein the respective cylinder is assigned an injector located in the cylinder head, - in which method several injection jets are injected simultaneously into the combustion chamber in a star shape by means of the injector for a combustion process in the self-ignition mode, - in which method the injection jets are split at the jet splitter contour into a first sub-quantity, a second sub-quantity and third sub-quantities, - wherein the first sub-quantity enters the piston recess, the second sub-quantity enters a region between the piston crown and the cylinder head via the piston stage and the third sub-quantities spread from the respective injection jet on both sides in the circumferential direction in opposite directions along the piston stage and the respective third sub-quantities collide between two adjacent injection jets within the piston stage and are deflected radially inwards, - wherein the first sub-quantity and the second sub-quantity form a first combustion front and a second combustion front and the jointly inward-deflected sub-quantities form a third combustion front radially inwards in a gap between the injection jets,