Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon blir ledsen när hon inte kan logga in och skriva in sitt lösenord. - She becomes sad when she cannot log in and enter her password.

Hon blir ledsen = She becomes / gets sad.
- Focus on the change of state: she was not sad before, but then something happens and she becomes sad.
Hon är ledsen = She is sad.
- Focus on the state itself, not the change.

In this sentence, the meaning is that when she can’t log in, that situation makes her sad. So Swedish naturally uses blir to express that reaction:
Hon blir ledsen när … = She gets sad when …

If you said Hon är ledsen när hon inte kan logga in, it’s understandable, but it sounds more like describing a general condition: Whenever she can’t log in, she is (in that state of) sad, rather than highlighting the moment she becomes sad.

Why is it “kan logga in” and not just “loggar in”?

Kan is a modal verb meaning “can / be able to”, and in Swedish, modal verbs are followed by an infinitive:

kan logga in = can log in
- kan = can
- logga = infinitive, “to log in”
You would only use loggar in (present tense) if you meant “logs in” or “is logging in” (describing what actually happens), not the ability to do it.

Since the sentence talks about not being able to log in, we need kan:
hon inte kan logga in = she can’t log in.

Why is it “när hon inte kan logga in” and not “när hon kan inte logga in”? Where does “inte” go in Swedish?

Word order with inte differs between main clauses and subordinate clauses:

Main clause (independent sentence):
- Hon kan inte logga in. = She can’t log in.
- Pattern: Subject – Verb – inte – …
Subordinate clause (introduced by när, att, eftersom, etc.):
- … när hon inte kan logga in. = … when she can’t log in.
- Pattern: [Subordinator] – Subject – inte – Verb – …

So:

✅ när hon inte kan logga in (correct in a subordinate clause)
❌ när hon kan inte logga in (wrong order for a subordinate clause)

In other words, after när, inte comes before the verb kan.

Why is it “logga in” and “skriva in”? What does the word “in” do here?

Both logga in and skriva in are particle verbs in Swedish:

logga in
- logga = to log (borrowed from English “log”)
- in = “in”
- Together: logga in = to log in / sign in
skriva in
- skriva = to write
- in = “in”
- Together: skriva in = to enter / type in (information, e.g. a password)

The particle “in” changes the meaning of the verb:

skriva = to write (in general)
skriva in = to write into a field / system / form

Similarly:

logga (on its own) is rare in everyday speech.
logga in is the standard expression for logging in.

The in is not optional; it is part of the verb.

Why is it “och skriva in sitt lösenord” without “kan” again? Shouldn’t it be “kan skriva in”?

Swedish usually does not repeat the modal verb when two infinitives share the same subject and modal:

Full form (repeated):
- Hon kan inte logga in och kan inte skriva in sitt lösenord.
Natural Swedish (shared kan):
- Hon inte kan logga in och skriva in sitt lösenord.

The kan in “inte kan logga in” also applies to “skriva in”:

inte kan [logga in] och [skriva in sitt lösenord]
= can’t [log in] or [enter her password]

So skriva is left in the infinitive without kan, but its meaning still depends on that kan earlier.

Why is it “sitt lösenord” and not “hennes lösenord”? Aren’t both “her password”?

Swedish distinguishes between:

Reflexive possessive (sin / sitt / sina)
Non‑reflexive possessive (hans / hennes / deras, etc.)

In this sentence, the subject “hon” owns the password, so we must use the reflexive form:

sitt lösenord = her own password (refers back to hon)

If you say hennes lösenord here, it tends to mean some other woman’s password, not the subject’s:

Hon blir ledsen när hon inte kan logga in och skriva in hennes lösenord.
≈ She gets sad when she can’t log in and enter *her (another woman’s) password.*

So:

Use sin / sitt / sina when the owner is the subject of the same clause.
Use hennes when the owner is someone else (not the subject).

Why is it “sitt” and not “sin” or “sina”?

The choice between sin / sitt / sina depends on the gender and number of the possessed noun:

sin – with en‑words (common gender singular)
- sin bok (en bok)
sitt – with ett‑words (neuter singular)
- sitt lösenord (ett lösenord)
sina – with plural nouns
- sina böcker (böcker = plural)

Since lösenord is an ett‑word (ett lösenord), the correct reflexive form is:

sitt lösenord

What exactly does “lösenord” mean? Is it always “password”?

Yes, lösenord is the normal Swedish word for “password” in digital and many other contexts:

lösen = “code / pass / solution” (related to lösen in older/other contexts: a codeword, a passphrase)
ord = “word”

Combined: lösenord = password.

It’s an ett‑word:

ett lösenord, lösenordet, flera lösenord

You use it for:

computer / website passwords
PIN codes are usually called PIN-kod or just PIN, not lösenord.

Why does Swedish use present tense “blir, kan, skriva” even though in English we might say “gets” or “can’t log in and type in her password” (which can feel more like ongoing actions)?

Swedish usually uses the simple present to express both:

general actions / habits, and
what English often describes with present simple or present continuous.

In this sentence:

Hon blir ledsen
= She gets sad / She becomes sad (present, general truth)
hon inte kan logga in och skriva in sitt lösenord
= when she can’t log in and enter her password

There is no separate continuous form like “is getting / is becoming / is logging in” in normal Swedish; context covers that nuance.

Could you use “när” here to mean “if”, or do you need “om” for “if”?

Both när and om can sometimes be translated as “when” or “if”, but they’re not fully interchangeable:

när focuses on time / whenever something happens
- Hon blir ledsen när hon inte kan logga in.
  = She gets sad when(ever) she can’t log in.
  (This happens whenever that situation occurs.)
om focuses on condition / possibility
- Hon blir ledsen om hon inte kan logga in.
  = She gets (will get) sad if she can’t log in.
  (More like a conditional: if that happens.)

In everyday speech they can overlap, but:

när feels more like “whenever this happens (and it does happen)”
om feels more like “if this happens (maybe it will, maybe not)”

In your sentence, när suggests this is a recurring situation or a typical reaction.

Why is it “och skriva in sitt lösenord” and not “eller skriva in sitt lösenord”?

The conjunction changes the logic:

och = “and”
- inte kan logga in och skriva in sitt lösenord
  ≈ cannot (do these things): log in and (then) enter her password
- Often implies a sequence: first log in, then enter password.
eller = “or”
- inte kan logga in eller skriva in sitt lösenord
  = cannot log in or enter her password (neither is possible at all).

In many login processes, “log in” and “enter password” are parts of one combined procedure. Using och matches this idea: she can’t carry out the process of logging in and entering her password, and that makes her sad.

Is there any difference in meaning between “logga in” and saying something like “låsa upp” (unlock) in this context?

Yes:

logga in = log in / sign in to an account, system, website, app, etc.
- Used specifically for user authentication.
låsa upp = unlock (physically or figuratively)
- e.g. låsa upp dörren = unlock the door
- In IT, you might låsa upp mobilen = unlock the phone screen.

For passwords and accounts, lösenord is tied to logga in:

logga in med sitt lösenord = log in with her password

So logga in is the correct and natural choice here.