Retirement tax questions

"Any contributions you personally made (not through your employer)" means that you sent a check directly to your HSA plan administrator, outside your employer.

The alternative is that you made contributions by means of a payroll deduction plan through your employer - this amount, added to amounts that your employer contributes is called the "employer contribution".

This counter-intuitive use of the term confuses many taxpayers, but it's the terminology that the IRS requires.