Han er ærlig selv når han gjør feil.

Han er ærlig selv når han gjør feil.
He is honest even when he makes mistakes.

Breakdown of Han er ærlig selv når han gjør feil.

være
to be
han
he
gjøre
to make
ærlig
honest
selv når
even when
feilen
the mistake
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Questions & Answers about Han er ærlig selv når han gjør feil.

What does the word selv mean here—“self” or “even”?

Here selv is an adverb meaning even, and it combines with når: selv når = even when.
If you move selv to the pronoun (han selv), it means “he himself”: Når han selv gjør feil = when he himself makes mistakes (different focus).

Can I use selv om instead of selv når? What’s the difference?
  • selv når = even when (focus on occasions/times something happens).
  • selv om = even though/although (a concessive contrast, regardless of time).
    Both are possible here, but selv når highlights the timing (“on those occasions”), while selv om highlights contrast (“despite the fact that…”).
Why is it når and not da?
  • Use når for present/future time and for repeated or general situations.
  • Use da for a single, specific event in the past.
    So general truth: … selv når han gjør feil.
    Single past occasion: … selv da han gjorde feil.
What verb form is gjør? How do I conjugate å gjøre?
  • Infinitive: å gjøre
  • Present: gjør
  • Preterite (past): gjorde
  • Past participle: gjort
  • Imperative: gjør!
Why is there no article before feil? Shouldn’t it be en feil?

The idiom is å gjøre feil (to make mistakes) with no article when speaking generally.
For a specific mistake, use the article: han gjør en feil.
Forms: en feil (a mistake), flere feil (several mistakes), feilen (the mistake), feilene (the mistakes).

Does feil also mean “wrong,” not just “a mistake”?

Yes. feil can be:

  • A noun: en feil (a mistake)
  • An adjective/adverb meaning “wrong/incorrect”: det er feil (that’s wrong), feil svar (wrong answer), å svare feil (to answer incorrectly).
Why doesn’t ærlig take an ending here?

Because it’s predicative (after er). In Bokmål, singular predicative adjectives have no ending: Han er ærlig.

  • Plural predicative: De er ærlige.
  • Attributive: en ærlig mann, et ærlig svar (adjectives ending in -lig/-ig don’t add -t in neuter).
What happens to word order if I move the selv når-clause to the front?

You must keep verb-second in the main clause:

  • Fronted: Selv når han gjør feil, er han ærlig.
  • Main clause still has the finite verb (er) in second position; inside the når-clause, the order is Subject–Verb: han gjør.
Do I need a comma before selv når?

Both are seen:

  • With comma (start-comma style): Han er ærlig, selv når han gjør feil.
  • Without comma (common in modern usage): Han er ærlig selv når han gjør feil.
    Be consistent with the style you use.
How do I pronounce the tricky parts?
  • æ in ærlig: like the vowel in English “air,” but shorter and more open.
  • ø in gjør: like French eu in “peu.”
  • å in når: like the vowel in English “law.”
  • Word tips (roughly, Oslo accent):
    • ærlig ≈ [ˈæːɭi] (the g is silent; rl becomes a retroflex L)
    • gjør ≈ [jøːr] (starts with a y/j sound)
    • når ≈ [nɔːr]
    • selv ≈ [selv] (colloquially often [ʃæːl] in parts of Eastern Norwegian)
Can I use til og med instead of selv?

Yes: Han er ærlig til og med når han gjør feil.
This can sound a bit more emphatic, highlighting an “even that!” sense.

How would this look in Nynorsk?

Han er ærleg sjølv når han gjer feil.
Differences: ærleg (not ærlig), sjølv (not selv), gjer (not gjør). Other words stay the same here.

Can I replace han with other pronouns like hun or hen?

Yes:

  • Hun = she
  • Hen = gender-neutral singular (increasingly used, especially in inclusive contexts)
    The rest of the sentence stays the same.
How would I say it in the past?
  • General habit in the past: Han var ærlig selv når han gjorde feil.
  • One specific past situation: Han var ærlig selv da han gjorde feil.
Where does ikke go inside the når-clause?

In subordinate clauses, ikke comes before the finite verb:

  • … selv når han ikke gjør feil (even when he doesn’t make mistakes).
    In a main clause it follows the verb: Han gjør ikke feil.
Is å gjøre feil the only way to say “make a mistake”?

Common options:

  • å gjøre en feil (make a mistake; specific)
  • å gjøre feil (make mistakes; general)
  • å begå en feil (make/commit a mistake; more formal)
  • å trå feil (to misstep; figurative)
    Note: å ta feil means “to be wrong,” not “to make a mistake” in the same sense.
What’s the difference between selv and selve?
  • selv = self/even (pronoun intensifier or adverb): han selv, selv når.
  • selve = the very (used with nouns): selve feilen (the very mistake).
    You cannot say selve når.