Learn Hardcore Chinese: Tā shuō, zhè cì chénggōng ràng tā gèng yǒu xìnxīn wèi zìjǐ de lǐxiǎng nǔlì. - She said that this success makes her more confident to work hard for her ideals.

The part after the comma is what she said or the content of her statement.
In Chinese, you can show reported speech with or without quotation marks. A comma is often used in normal writing.

You could also write:

她说这次成功让她更有信心为自己的理想努力。
(very natural in modern Chinese, just like "She said this success made her more confident to work hard for her ideals.")

So the structure is:

她说 + [clause] = "She said (that) [clause]."

What does 这次 mean here, and why do we need 次?

这次 (zhè cì) means "this time".

这 = this
次 = a measure word for occurrences / times (one time, two times, etc.)

So 这次成功 literally is "the success of this time", i.e. "this success" (the success that happened this time).

Without 次, 这成功 is not natural here. You almost always say 这次成功, 那次失败, etc., when referring to a particular occurrence of success/failure.

Is 成功 here a verb "succeeded" or a noun "success"? How can I tell?

In 这次成功让她更有信心…, 成功 (chénggōng) is functioning as a noun, meaning "success".

Hints:

It follows 这次 ("this time"), which describes an event / occurrence, so 这次成功 = "this success".
If it were used as a verb, you’d more typically see patterns like:
- 她这次成功了。 – "She succeeded this time."

Here, the whole phrase 这次成功 is the subject of 让, so it's best understood as a thing / event:
"This success made her more confident..."

What does 让 do in this sentence? Is it "let" or "make", and could I use 使 instead?

In 这次成功让她更有信心…, 让 (ràng) is a causative verb meaning "make / cause", not "allow / let" in the permission sense.

Structure:

X 让 Y Z = "X makes Y (be) Z"
Here: 这次成功让她更有信心…
→ "This success made her more confident…"

You can often replace it with 使 (shǐ) in written or more formal style:

这次成功使她更有信心为自己的理想努力。

Both are correct; 让 is more colloquial and common in speech; 使 is more formal / bookish.

Why is it 更有信心 and not just 更信心?

信心 (xìnxīn) is a noun meaning "confidence", not an adjective.
So you need a verb like 有 (yǒu, to have) before it:

有信心 = "to have confidence / to be confident"

Then 更 (gèng) means "more / even more".

So:

更有信心 = "to have more confidence" / "to be more confident"

更信心 is ungrammatical in standard Mandarin, because there is no verb in front of the noun 信心.

What exactly does 更 (gèng) add to the meaning? Can I just say 有信心?

更 means "more" or "even more", indicating an increase compared to before.

有信心 = "have confidence / be confident"
更有信心 = "have more confidence (than before)" / "be more confident"

If you remove 更, the meaning changes slightly:

这次成功让她有信心为自己的理想努力。
→ "This success made her confident enough to work hard for her ideals."
这次成功让她更有信心为自己的理想努力。
→ "This success made her even more confident to work hard for her ideals."
(implies she already had some confidence before)

How does 有信心为自己的理想努力 work grammatically? Is 为自己的理想努力 attached to 有信心?

Yes. The structure here is:

有信心 + [to do something]

So:

有信心为自己的理想努力
= "have confidence to work hard for one's ideals"

Breakdown:

有信心 – to have confidence
为…努力 – to make efforts / work hard for …
为自己的理想努力 – to work hard for one’s own ideals/dreams

So 为自己的理想努力 acts like a purpose clause attached to 有信心, similar to:

"have confidence to work hard for her own ideals."

What is the function of 为 in 为自己的理想努力? How is it different from 为了?

为 (wèi) here means "for" in the sense of "for the sake of / in order to achieve".

为自己的理想努力
= "work hard for her own ideals"

为了 (wèile) is very close in meaning but often emphasizes purpose a bit more. You could say:

为了自己的理想而努力
为了自己的理想努力

Differences:

为 is shorter and very common in such verb phrases.
为了 often introduces a purpose clause before the main action:
- 为了自己的理想，她很努力。
  "For the sake of her ideals, she works very hard."

In this exact sentence, 为自己的理想努力 and 为了自己的理想努力 are both possible, with only a small nuance difference (为了 sounding slightly more explicit and formal about the purpose).

Why is there a 的 in 自己的理想? What does 自己的 mean exactly?

自己 (zìjǐ) means "self" (myself, yourself, herself, etc.), and 的 makes it possessive, like "one's own".

自己 = self
自己的 = one's own
自己的理想 = "one's own ideals/dreams"

In this sentence, since the subject is 她 (she), 自己的理想 naturally means "her own ideals".

Using 自己的 instead of 她的 emphasizes that these are her own personal ideals, not someone else's ideals that she happens to be serving.

Could we omit the second 她 and just say 这次成功让更有信心为自己的理想努力?

No, you can’t omit the second 她 here. You need a clear object of 让.

The pattern is:

X 让 Y Z = X makes Y (be) Z

If you remove 她, you get 这次成功让更有信心…, which is missing who becomes more confident.

Natural options:

这次成功让她更有信心为自己的理想努力。 ✔
In context, you might sometimes drop the first 她 if it's clear:
- （她说）这次成功让她更有信心为自己的理想努力。

Why is there no 了 after 成功? Would 这次成功了让她… be okay?

In this structure, 这次成功 is a noun phrase ("this success"), not a verb phrase ("succeeded"). So you don’t normally add 了 inside it.

这次成功 = "this success (as an event / result)"

If you say 这次成功了, you are treating 成功 as a verb ("succeeded this time"). Then you would need a different sentence structure, like:

她这次成功了，这让她更有信心为自己的理想努力。
"She succeeded this time; this made her more confident to work hard for her ideals."

So in the original sentence, no 了 is correct because 成功 is used as a noun.

What is the nuance of 理想 here? Is it the same as 梦想 or 目标?

They’re related but not identical:

理想 (lǐxiǎng) – ideals / aspirations, often with a sense of what you believe in or deeply want to achieve in life. Slightly formal or lofty.
梦想 (mèngxiǎng) – dream(s), often more emotional or poetic, can be less realistic.
目标 (mùbiāo) – goal / target, often more concrete and practical.

In 为自己的理想努力, 理想 suggests personal life ideals or long-term aspirations, not just any small goal. It fits the tone of "working hard for her ideals/dreams in life."

Can I add 去 before 为, like 更有信心去为自己的理想努力? Is that natural?

Yes, 更有信心去为自己的理想努力 is grammatically fine and natural.

去 here emphasizes the future / direction of action: "have more confidence to go and work hard for her own ideals."

Subtle difference:

更有信心为自己的理想努力。
= "more confident about working hard for her ideals" (neutral)
更有信心去为自己的理想努力。
= "more confident to go and work hard for her ideals" (focus a bit more on taking action)

In everyday speech, many people would still prefer the simpler version without 去.