Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Etter å ha lest kommentarene følte hun både usikkerhet og lav selvfølelse. - After having read the comments she felt both uncertainty and low self‑esteem.

You use å ha + past participle when you want to express something that is already completed before another action, very similar to English having done, having seen, etc.

Compare:

Etter å ha lest kommentarene, følte hun …
= After having read the comments, she felt …
Etter å lese kommentarene is ungrammatical in Norwegian in this meaning.

Could I say Etter at hun hadde lest kommentarene instead? What is the difference?

Yes, you can say:

Etter at hun hadde lest kommentarene, følte hun både usikkerhet og lav selvfølelse.

Difference:

Form
- Etter å ha lest kommentarene = preposition + infinitive construction.
- Etter at hun hadde lest kommentarene = conjunction etter at
  - full clause with subject and verb.
Style / usage
- Etter å ha + past participle is a bit more compact and quite common in written Norwegian.
- Etter at + [subject] + [verb] is a fully finite clause, a bit more explicit and often feels slightly more formal or narrative.
Subject rule
- The infinitive construction etter å ha lest … is normally used when the subject of the reading and the subject of the main clause are the same (here: hun in both).
- If the subjects are different, you must use etter at:
  - Etter at han hadde lest kommentarene, følte hun … ✅
  - Etter å ha lest kommentarene, følte hun … would then wrongly suggest that she did the reading.

Why is it følte hun and not hun følte?

Norwegian has a verb-second (V2) word order in main clauses. That means the finite verb (here: følte) must come in the second position of the clause.

In this sentence, the first position is taken by the whole initial phrase:

Etter å ha lest kommentarene (first element)
so the finite verb must come next: følte
then comes the subject: hun

Therefore:

Etter å ha lest kommentarene følte hun … ✅ (correct V2)
Etter å ha lest kommentarene hun følte … ❌ (verb is not in second position)

Why do we use hun and not henne here?

Norwegian, like English, distinguishes subject and object forms of pronouns:

hun = she (subject form)
henne = her (object form / after prepositions)

In the main clause følte hun både usikkerhet og lav selvfølelse, hun is the subject of the verb følte, so you must use hun:

Hun følte … = She felt …
Jeg så henne. = I saw her. (object)
Jeg gikk med henne. = I walked with her. (after preposition)

So in this position, henne would be ungrammatical.

What does the ending -ene in kommentarene mean, and how is the noun formed?

Kommentarene is definite plural: the comments.

Declension of en kommentar (a comment):

Singular indefinite: en kommentar = a comment
Singular definite: kommentaren = the comment
Plural indefinite: kommentarer = comments
Plural definite: kommentarene = the comments

In the sentence, kommentarene implies a specific set of comments that both speaker and listener know about (for example, comments on a post she just read), not just comments in general.

Compare:

Etter å ha lest kommentarer, følte hun …
= After having read comments (some comments, unspecified).
Etter å ha lest kommentarene, følte hun …
= After having read the comments (those particular comments).

What does både … og … do in this sentence? Can I leave out både?

Både … og … is a correlative pair meaning both … and ….

In the sentence:

både usikkerhet og lav selvfølelse = both insecurity and low self-esteem

You can grammatically leave out både and say:

… følte hun usikkerhet og lav selvfølelse.

But:

With både … og …, you emphasize that there are two distinct things she felt.
Without både, it is just a simple X and Y list, with slightly less focus on the “both-ness”.

So both forms are correct; både … og … just makes the parallel structure more explicit.

What is the difference between usikker and usikkerhet?

usikker is an adjective = insecure, uncertain
usikkerhet is a noun = insecurity, uncertainty

Examples:

Hun er usikker. = She is insecure / unsure. (adjective)
Hun følte usikkerhet. = She felt insecurity. (noun)
Det er mye usikkerhet i markedet. = There is a lot of uncertainty in the market.

In the sentence, we want to list things she felt as nouns:

usikkerhet (insecurity)
lav selvfølelse (low self-esteem)

Using nouns makes the coordination with lav selvfølelse smoother.

What exactly does lav selvfølelse mean, and how is the word built?

Lav selvfølelse literally means low self-feeling, and idiomatically it means low self-esteem.

Word formation:

selv = self
følelse = feeling
selvfølelse = feeling about oneself → self-esteem

So:

en selvfølelse = a self-esteem / a sense of self-worth
lav selvfølelse = low self-esteem
god selvfølelse = good / healthy self-esteem

Nuance:

selvfølelse is about how you value yourself as a person (self-worth).
It is often contrasted with selvtillit (confidence in your abilities), though in everyday speech people sometimes mix them.

Could I say lav selvtillit instead of lav selvfølelse here?

Yes, you could say:

… følte hun både usikkerhet og lav selvtillit.

lav selvtillit = low self-confidence.

Nuance:

lav selvfølelse focuses more on how she values herself as a person (self-worth).
lav selvtillit focuses more on her belief in her abilities (confidence).

In context with negative comments, lav selvfølelse suggests she starts to feel worse about herself in general, not just less confident about specific skills. But both collocations are common and natural.

Is the word order både usikkerhet og lav selvfølelse fixed, or can I swap them?

You can swap them without changing the grammar:

… følte hun både usikkerhet og lav selvfølelse. ✅
… følte hun både lav selvfølelse og usikkerhet. ✅

The meaning is essentially the same: she felt both X and Y.

Any difference is only a small emphasis choice: the word that comes last can feel slightly more salient. In the original, lav selvfølelse comes last, which may slightly highlight the idea of low self-esteem.

Why is the main verb følte in the past tense here, and how does it relate to å ha lest?

Følte is the preterite (simple past) of å føle (to feel).

Timeline:

First: she read the comments (completed action)
After that: she felt insecurity and low self-esteem

Grammar:

Etter å ha lest kommentarene = after having read the comments (completed before)
følte hun … = she felt … (main past event being reported)

Both actions are in the past, and the infinitive construction å ha lest shows that the reading is prior to the feeling, even though the main verb is just simple past (følte), not a perfect or pluperfect.

Can I use etter directly with a clause like in English “after she read the comments”?

You cannot use etter alone before a full clause. You must choose one of these patterns:

etter
- noun / noun phrase / infinitive phrase:
- etter middag = after dinner
- etter å ha lest kommentarene = after having read the comments
etter at
- full clause (with subject and finite verb):
- etter at hun hadde lest kommentarene = after she had read the comments

So in Norwegian:

etter hun hadde lest kommentarene ❌ (wrong)
etter at hun hadde lest kommentarene ✅
etter å ha lest kommentarene ✅