Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Han oppdager nye sider av seg selv når han skriver i dagboken sin. - He discovers new sides of himself when he writes in his diary.

In Han oppdager nye sider av seg selv, the “self” we are talking about is the same person as han (he).
Because the object refers back to the subject, Norwegian must use the reflexive form seg, not ham.

selv just adds emphasis, like English himself instead of just him.

So:

Han ser ham. = He sees him. (another man)
Han ser seg (selv). = He sees himself. (reflexive)

Why is it av seg selv and not med seg selv or om seg selv?

The expression nye sider av seg selv is idiomatic Norwegian:

side (sider) here means aspect / side / facet (of a personality).
av in this context is like English “of”: “new sides of himself”.

Other prepositions would change or break the meaning:

med seg selv = with himself (e.g. Han snakker med seg selv = He talks to himself.)
om seg selv = about himself (e.g. Han skriver om seg selv = He writes about himself.)

You specifically talk about “sides of yourself”, so av is the natural preposition.

What exactly does nye sider mean here? Is it literal “sides”?

It is metaphorical, just like in English.

nye sider (av seg selv) = new sides / aspects / facets of himself
→ new parts of his personality, new qualities, new ways of thinking or feeling.

It does not mean physical sides; it’s about character and personality.

Why is the verb oppdager in the simple present, not something like “is discovering”?

Norwegian does not normally have a separate -ing progressive form like English.

Han oppdager can mean:
- He discovers (in general, regularly)
- He is discovering (right now / as a process)

Context decides. In this sentence, together with når han skriver (“when(ever) he writes”), it refers to a repeated or typical situation. English would naturally say:

He discovers new sides of himself when he writes in his diary.
or
He *is discovering new sides of himself when he writes in his diary.*

Norwegian uses the simple present for both.

Why is it når han skriver and not da han skriver?

The choice between når and da is important:

når = when(ever) for:
- present and future
- repeated / general actions in the past
da = when for:
- one specific event in the past

In this sentence we have a general, repeated situation in the present:

når han skriver i dagboken sin = when(ever) he writes in his diary

If you talked about one particular time in the past, you would say:

Han oppdaget nye sider av seg selv da han skrev i dagboken sin.
= He discovered new sides of himself when he wrote in his diary (on that occasion).

Why do we say i dagboken sin and not just dagboken sin?

The preposition i is needed because in Norwegian you:

skriver i noe = write in something (inside it, in its pages)
- Han skriver i dagboken sin. = He writes in his diary.

If you said:

Han skriver dagboken sin.

this would sound like “He writes his diary” as if the whole diary itself were a text assignment he is composing. That is not how Norwegians phrase normal diary writing.

So i is necessary to express “in the diary”.

Why is it dagboken sin and not dagboken hans?

Norwegian has reflexive possessives that refer back to the subject of the sentence:

sin / si / sitt / sine = his/her/its/their (when possessed thing belongs to the subject)
hans / hennes / deres = his/her/their (neutral, can be someone else, not necessarily the subject)

In this sentence, the diary belongs to han, the subject. So we use the reflexive:

Han skriver i dagboken sin.
= He writes in his (own) diary.

If you said:

Han skriver i dagboken hans.

this normally means: He writes in *his diary (some other man’s diary)*, not his own.

What is the difference between dagbok, dagboken, and dagboka?

These are different forms of the same noun dagbok (diary):

dagbok = diary (indefinite, singular)
dagboken = the diary (definite, singular, bookish/standard form)
dagboka = the diary (definite, singular, alternative Bokmål form, a bit more colloquial or dialect-like)

In your sentence:

i dagboken sin = in his diary (standard written Bokmål)
You could also see i dagboka si in more informal Bokmål.

Why does the sentence start with Han oppdager and not Han nye sider oppdager?

Norwegian is a V2 language in main clauses: the finite verb must be in second position.

Basic pattern here:

Han (subject)
oppdager (finite verb – must be second)
nye sider av seg selv (object phrase)
når han skriver i dagboken sin (subordinate clause / adverbial)

Putting nye sider directly after han would break the V2 rule:

❌ Han nye sider oppdager … → ungrammatical

Why is the subject han repeated in når han skriver, instead of just saying når skriver?

In Norwegian, every finite clause needs an explicit subject. You generally cannot drop the subject like in some other languages.

So the subordinate clause must have its own subject:

når han skriver = when he writes

You cannot say:

❌ når skriver i dagboken sin (missing subject)

Can the word order at the end be changed, like Han oppdager i dagboken sin nye sider av seg selv?

That word order is technically possible but sounds unnatural and heavy in ordinary Norwegian.

The most natural order is to:

Keep the verb in second position.
Put the direct object and its modifiers together.
Put longer adverbials / clauses towards the end.

So:

Han oppdager nye sider av seg selv når han skriver i dagboken sin. ✅ natural

Something like:

Han oppdager i dagboken sin nye sider av seg selv.
sounds awkward and marked; a native speaker would almost always avoid it here.

Could you rephrase this sentence in a simpler way in Norwegian with the same meaning?

Yes, for learners you might see versions like:

Han lærer nye ting om seg selv når han skriver i dagboken sin.
= He learns new things about himself when he writes in his diary.

or even more basic:

Han forstår seg selv bedre når han skriver i dagboken sin.
= He understands himself better when he writes in his diary.

These keep the same core idea but use more common, transparent words.