Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå.

kjenne – to know in the sense of be familiar with, be acquainted with, know personally/through experience.
- Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå. = He knows himself better now (he is more familiar with himself, with who he is).
- Jeg kjenner ham. = I know him (personally).
vite – to know facts, information.
- Han vet svaret. = He knows the answer.
- Jeg vet at han kommer. = I know that he is coming.

In Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå, we’re talking about deeper familiarity/understanding of oneself, so kjenner is correct; vet would sound wrong here.

Why do we say seg selv and not just seg or ham?

Seg is the reflexive pronoun for han / hun / de (“he / she / they”) and it refers back to the subject of the sentence.

Han kjenner seg … = He knows himself … (referring back to han)
If you said Han kjenner ham, it would mean He knows him (some other male person, not himself).

Selv is added for emphasis or clarity, and together seg selv is a very common way to say “himself / herself / themselves” in the reflexive sense:

Han kjenner seg selv. = He knows himself.
Hun kjenner seg selv. = She knows herself.
De kjenner seg selv. = They know themselves.

So seg selv is the natural way to express “himself” when the object refers back to the subject.

What is the function of selv here? Could I say Han kjenner seg bedre nå instead?

Selv adds the idea of “self” and often a bit of emphasis:

Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå.
Focuses specifically on knowing himself, on his self-knowledge or self-understanding.

If you say:

Han kjenner seg bedre nå.

it is grammatically correct, but it is more naturally understood as “He feels better now” rather than “He knows himself better now”.

This is because kjenne seg without selv is very commonly used to mean “to feel (in oneself)”:

Jeg kjenner meg trøtt. = I feel tired.
Han kjenner seg syk. = He feels ill.

So selv is important here to keep the meaning clearly about knowing oneself, not just feeling better.

I’ve seen kjenne seg used as “to feel.” Could this sentence also mean “He feels better now”?

No, not with “seg selv” in there.

Han kjenner seg bedre nå.
→ Most naturally: He feels better now.
Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå.
→ He knows himself better now.

Adding selv shifts the meaning from physical/mental state (“feels”) to self-awareness / knowledge of oneself. So in your sentence, the intended reading is about self-knowledge, not about feeling physically or emotionally better.

Why is it bedre and not something like mer bra or mer godt?

Bra (good) has an irregular comparative:

Positive: bra = good
Comparative: bedre = better
Superlative: best = best

So you usually don’t say mer bra for a simple “better”; you use bedre instead:

Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå. = He knows himself better now.
Han spiller bedre nå. = He plays better now.

Mer bra is possible in some special emphatic colloquial uses, but for standard “better”, always choose bedre.

Is bedre here an adjective or an adverb, and what is it modifying?

In Norwegian, the form bedre is used both as:

the comparative of the adjective “good” (bra), and
the comparative adverb “well / better”.

In Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå, bedre works adverbially, describing how he knows himself:

He knows himself better (than before).

There is no separate “-ly” form in Norwegian here; bedre covers both better (adj) and better (adv).

How is the verb kjenne conjugated? What tense is kjenner?

Kjenne is the infinitive form: å kjenne = to know / to be familiar with / to feel.

Basic forms:

Infinitive: å kjenne
Present: kjenner
- Jeg kjenner
- Du kjenner
- Han/Hun kjenner
- Vi kjenner
- Dere kjenner
- De kjenner

Norwegian present tense does not change with the subject, so kjenner is used for all persons.

In Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå, kjenner is present tense, describing a present state: he now knows himself better than before.

Could I change the word order and say Nå kjenner han seg selv bedre? Is there any difference?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå.
Nå kjenner han seg selv bedre.

Both are grammatical and mean essentially the same: He knows himself better now.

Subtle differences:

Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå.
Neutral word order, light emphasis on nå at the end.
Nå kjenner han seg selv bedre.
Starts with Nå, so it puts a bit more focus on “now” as a contrast to before.

In Norwegian main clauses, the finite verb must be in second position (V2 rule).
In Nå kjenner han seg selv bedre, Nå is in first position, and kjenner (the verb) correctly comes second.

Why is it han and not ham at the beginning? What’s the difference?

Han and ham are two forms of the same pronoun, but used in different roles:

han = subject form (“he”)
- Han kjenner seg selv. = He knows himself.
ham = object form (“him”)
- Jeg kjenner ham. = I know him.

In your sentence, the pronoun is the subject of the verb kjenner, so it must be han, not ham:

✅ Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå.
❌ Ham kjenner seg selv bedre nå. (ungrammatical in standard Norwegian)

How would this sentence change with different subjects? (I, you, she, we, they)

The verb kjenner stays the same for all persons; the reflexive pronoun and the subject pronoun change:

Jeg kjenner meg selv bedre nå. = I know myself better now.
Du kjenner deg selv bedre nå. = You know yourself better now.
Han kjenner seg selv bedre nå. = He knows himself better now.
Hun kjenner seg selv bedre nå. = She knows herself better now.
Vi kjenner oss selv bedre nå. = We know ourselves better now.
Dere kjenner dere selv bedre nå. = You (plural) know yourselves better now.
De kjenner seg selv bedre nå. = They know themselves better now.

Note how seg is used only for han / hun / de (he / she / they).