Han vill vara själv i sitt rum.

He wants to be alone in his room.

Breakdown of Han vill vara själv i sitt rum.

• vara: to be
• i: in
• vilja: to want
• han: he
• sitt: his
• rummet: the room
• själv: himself

Questions & Answers about Han vill vara själv i sitt rum.

Why is it vill vara and not vill är?

In Swedish, vill (wants) is followed by the infinitive form of the verb, not the present tense.

• vara = infinitive “to be”
• är = present tense “am/is/are”

So you say:

• Han vill vara själv… = He wants to be alone… not ✗ Han vill är själv…

This is the same pattern as:

• Han vill äta. = He wants to eat.
• Hon vill sova. = She wants to sleep.

Why is there no att before vara, like “vill att vara”?

Some verbs in Swedish normally take the bare infinitive (without att). Vill is one of them.

• Han vill vara själv. = He wants to be alone. (no att)
• Hon kan tala svenska. = She can speak Swedish. (no att)

You do use att with many other verbs:

• Han försöker att vara tyst. = He is trying to be quiet.
• Hon behöver att vila. (often just behöver vila) = She needs to rest.

So with vill, you usually say: vill + infinitive, no att.

What is the difference between själv and ensam?

Both can be translated as “alone,” but they have different focuses:

• själv = by oneself, without others around / not with help from others

  • Han vill vara själv i sitt rum.
    He wants to be by himself in his room. (no one else there)

• ensam = alone, often with a nuance of being lonely or without company

  • Han känner sig ensam i sitt rum.
    He feels lonely in his room.

They overlap in meaning, and själv is very common in the “alone in a room” sense:

• Jag vill vara själv en stund.
  I want to be by myself for a while.

If you want to emphasize loneliness or emotional isolation, ensam is more natural:

• Hon är ofta ensam på kvällarna.
  She is often alone (and possibly lonely) in the evenings.

Does själv change form for gender or number?

Yes, in theory, but in practice själv is very often used in the base form.

Forms:

• själv – common gender (en-words), and very often used generally
• självt – neuter (ett-words) in some constructions
• själva – plural and definite forms

Examples:

• Han är själv. = He is alone/by himself.
• Hon är själv. = She is alone/by herself.
• Barnet är självt. (more formal/literary; many would just say själv)
• De är själva. = They are by themselves.

In your sentence, with han, you use:
Han vill vara själv…

Could själv here mean “himself” rather than “alone”?

In this position, själv means “alone / by himself”, not “himself” in the reflexive sense.

• Han vill vara själv i sitt rum.
  = He wants to be by himself in his room.

To emphasize “he himself (and not someone else) wants to be in his room,” you move själv:

• Han vill själv vara i sitt rum.
  = He himself wants to be in his room (as opposed to someone else).

So:

• Han vill vara själv… → alone
• Han vill själv vara… → he personally, he himself

Why is it sitt and not sin or sina?

Sin / sitt / sina are reflexive possessive pronouns and must agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe, not with the owner.

• sin – for en-words (singular)
• sitt – for ett-words (singular)
• sina – for plurals

Rum is an ett-word: ett rum.
Therefore you must use sitt:

• Han vill vara själv i sitt rum.
  He wants to be alone in his (own) room.

Compare:

• Han älskar sin bil. (bil = en bil)
• Hon tappade sitt pass. (pass = ett pass)
• De saknar sina vänner. (vänner = plural)

Why is it sitt and not hans (his)?

Sin/sitt/sina and hans/hennes work differently:

• sin/sitt/sina → the owner is the subject of the same clause (reflexive)
• hans → “his” referring to some other male person, not the subject

In your sentence, the subject is han, and the room belongs to that same han, so you use sitt:

• Han vill vara själv i sitt rum.
  = He wants to be alone in his own room.

If you said:

• Han vill vara själv i hans rum.
  it would normally be understood as: = He wants to be alone in another guy’s room (some other “his”).

So:

• Same person as subject → sin/sitt/sina
• Some other person → hans (his), hennes (her), etc.

Why is it i sitt rum and not på sitt rum?

Both i and på can be used with rum, but the meaning and usage shift slightly, and it’s also a bit regional.

• i sitt rum – literally “in his room,” neutral, very clear location inside the room.
• på sitt rum – literally “on his room,” but idiomatic Swedish can use på rummet in the sense “in (one’s) room,” especially in some dialects and contexts (e.g., hotels, homes).

In many standard contexts:

• Han sitter på sitt rum.
  = He is (up) in his room. (very common phrasing)

Your sentence with i is completely correct and clear.
In everyday speech, på sitt rum is probably more frequent when talking about where someone is:

• Han vill vara själv på sitt rum.
  sounds very natural as well.

Why is the subject Han and not Honom?

Han is the subject form (nominative), used when “he” is doing the action.
Honom is the object form (accusative), used when “him” is receiving the action.

• Han vill vara själv. = He wants to be alone. (subject)
• Jag gillar honom. = I like him. (object)

So at the start of a normal declarative sentence where “he” is the one who wants something, you must use Han.

Where would I put inte if I want to say “He does not want to be alone in his room”?

The normal placement is after the verb “vill”:

• Han vill inte vara själv i sitt rum.
  = He does not want to be alone in his room.

Structure:

• Han (subject)
• vill (finite verb)
• inte (negation)
• vara (infinitive)
• själv i sitt rum (rest of the predicate)

How do you pronounce själv? The “sj” looks strange.

Själv contains the typical Swedish “sj‑sound”, which is a voiceless, somewhat “sh”-like sound, but produced farther back in the mouth/throat.

Approximate breakdown:

• sj → a “sh/kh”-type sound (like a hissing /ʃ/ but more back and breathy)
• ä → like the “e” in English “bed”
• lv → somewhat like “lv” in English “twelve”, but the v can be quite soft

A rough English approximation would be something like “shelf” but:

• starting with a more throaty sh sound,
• and with the vowel from “bed” instead of “e” in “shelf”.

Native-like pronunciation takes practice; listening to audio examples of själv and repeating them is the best way to get it.