Learn Hardcore Japanese: asa kami wo kagami no mae de naosu to, sukosi zisin ga demasu. - When I fix my hair in front of the mirror in the morning, I feel a bit more confident.

If you used 鏡の前に instead, it would emphasize location or movement to the location (to the front of the mirror), not the place where the action is done. For actions, で is the normal choice.

What does 直す mean here, and what other meanings can it have?

In this sentence, 直す (なおす) means:

to fix / to adjust / to tidy up (hair, clothes, etc.)

Examples:

髪を直す – fix my hair
ネクタイを直す – straighten my tie
服のシワを直す – smooth out wrinkles in my clothes

More general meanings of 直す:

to repair (a broken object)
- 時計を直す – repair a watch
to correct (a mistake)
- 間違いを直す – correct a mistake
to redo/change something
- 計画を直す – revise the plan

So the nuance is: making something into a better or proper state.

What is the function of と in 直すと、少し自信が出ます?

The と here is a conditional marker, often called the と‑conditional.

Pattern:

[Clause A] と、[Clause B]

It often means:

when A happens, B happens (automatic/result)
whenever A happens, B happens
if A happens, B happens

In this sentence:

直すと – when I fix (my hair) / if I fix (my hair)
少し自信が出ます – I feel a little more confident

So と links the action of fixing hair with the natural result: confidence comes out.

This と is different from the と used for quotes (as in 「…」と言う). Here it is purely conditional.

Why is 自信 marked by が and not を or は?

自信 means self-confidence.

が marks the grammatical subject, often for something that appears, starts, or is felt.
出ます is an intransitive verb, so it does not take a direct object を; instead, the thing that comes out is the subject, marked by が.

自信が出ます literally:
> confidence comes out (appears)

This is a common pattern:

元気が出る – energy/cheer comes out → I feel more energetic
やる気が出る – motivation comes out → I feel motivated
涙が出る – tears come out → I cry

If you used 自信は, you would be thematically highlighting self-confidence (as for confidence, it comes out a little), but 自信が is the normal, neutral subject marking here.

What does 自信が出ます really mean? It sounds strange literally.

Literally:

自信 – self-confidence
出ます – comes out / appears

So 自信が出ます is:

confidence comes out

In natural English, this is usually expressed as:

I feel more confident.
I gain some confidence.
My confidence increases.

Japanese often uses 出る (come out) for feelings, energy, tears, voice, etc., where English uses verbs like feel, get, have:

元気が出る – I feel better / more energetic
声が出ない – my voice will not come out → I have no voice
やる気が出ない – I cannot get any motivation

So 少し自信が出ます = I feel a little more confident.

Why is the verb 出ます in the polite present form? Does this mean present, future, or general habit?

出ます is:

polite (ます-form)
non-past (can cover both present and future)

In context, with a と conditional and 朝 (in the morning), this non-past form expresses a general, habitual truth:

Whenever I fix my hair in front of the mirror in the morning, this happens: I feel a bit more confident.

So here it means something like:

I (generally) feel a little more confident.

If you wanted to talk about a specific past time, you would say:

直すと、少し自信が出ました。 – When I fixed it (that time), I felt a bit more confident.

What is the nuance of 少し here? How is it different from ちょっと?

Both 少し and ちょっと can mean a little, a bit.

Nuance:

少し
- Slightly more neutral and formal
- Often used in writing or polite speech
ちょっと
- More casual, conversational
- Can also mean a little (time/amount), or soften a refusal (ちょっと… is often a polite no)

In this sentence:

少し自信が出ます。 – I feel a little more confident. (neutral/polite)
ちょっと自信が出ます。 – I feel a bit more confident. (very natural in casual speech)

Both are grammatically fine; the original sounds slightly more neutral/polite.

Could this sentence be made more casual or more polite? How would it change?

Current sentence (polite, but not very formal):

朝髪を鏡の前で直すと、少し自信が出ます。

More casual:

Drop ます: 出る
Often drop を when obvious in casual speech (optional, but common):
- 朝、髪、鏡の前で直すと、少し自信が出る。

Even more colloquial (spoken):

Add a subject like 俺 / 私 if you want:
- 朝、髪を鏡の前で直すと、ちょっと自信出る。

More polite/formal:

You might keep it as is; it is already polite.
Add 私 if you really want explicitness:
- 朝、私が髪を鏡の前で直すと、少し自信が出ます。

But usually this extra 私が is not needed unless you are contrasting with someone else.

Can the word order be changed, for example moving 朝 or 鏡の前で?

Yes, Japanese allows some flexibility in word order, as long as particles stay attached to the correct words and the verb stays at the end.

Some natural variations:

朝、鏡の前で髪を直すと、少し自信が出ます。
鏡の前で朝、髪を直すと、少し自信が出ます。 (a bit less common, but possible in speech)
髪を朝、鏡の前で直すと、少し自信が出ます。 (odd emphasis; not typical)

Most natural are:

朝、髪を鏡の前で直すと、少し自信が出ます。
朝、鏡の前で髪を直すと、少し自信が出ます。

You cannot move 出ます away from the end, and you must keep the particles (を, で, が) with their nouns.

Is 朝 functioning like a time expression without a particle? Should it have に?

Yes, 朝 here is a time expression used without a particle, which is very common in Japanese.

You could add に:

朝に髪を …

but in everyday Japanese, common time words often drop に:

朝起きる。 – I get up in the morning.
毎日日本語を勉強します。 – I study Japanese every day.
来週東京に行きます。 – I will go to Tokyo next week.

So 朝髪を鏡の前で直すと… is perfectly natural, and 朝に would sound more stiff or marked.