Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon lär sig två språk, svenska och engelska. - She is learning two languages, Swedish and English.

In Swedish, lära sig is the usual way to say “to learn.” It’s a reflexive verb, meaning it uses a reflexive pronoun (like sig) as part of its normal form.

lära sig = to learn
lära (ut) = to teach

Literally, hon lär sig could be understood as “she teaches herself,” but in modern Swedish it simply means “she learns / she is learning.” You normally cannot drop sig here:

✅ Hon lär sig två språk. – She learns two languages.
❌ Hon lär två språk. – This does not mean she learns two languages; it sounds like she is teaching them (and even then you’d usually say lär ut).

What exactly does sig mean, and how does it change with different subjects?

Sig is the 3rd person reflexive pronoun (for he, she, it, they when they refer back to themselves).

Here are all the reflexive forms with lära sig in the present tense:

Jag lär mig två språk. – I learn two languages.
Du lär dig två språk. – You learn two languages.
Han / Hon / Hen / Den / Det lär sig två språk. – He / She / They / It learn(s) two languages.
Vi lär oss två språk. – We learn two languages.
Ni lär er två språk. – You (plural) learn two languages.
De lär sig två språk. – They learn two languages.

So:

mig, dig, sig, oss, er, sig = myself, yourself, himself/herself/itself/themselves, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

What is the difference between lära sig and lära (ut)?

They correspond closely to learn vs teach:

lära sig = to learn
- Hon lär sig svenska. – She is learning Swedish.
lära (ut) = to teach
- Hon lär ut svenska. – She teaches Swedish.
- Hon lär barnen svenska. – She teaches the children Swedish.

So:

If the subject is the one acquiring knowledge → use lära sig.
If the subject is the one giving knowledge to others → use lära or lära ut.

Where does sig go in the sentence? Could I say Hon lär två språk sig?

Sig (and other reflexive pronouns) almost always comes right after the verb in a simple main clause.

Correct word order here is:

Hon lär sig två språk. – Subject + verb + reflexive pronoun + object.

You cannot move sig after the object:

❌ Hon lär två språk sig.

If you add an adverb, sig usually still stays directly after the verb:

Hon lär sig snabbt två språk. – She learns two languages quickly.
Hon lär sig gärna språk. – She gladly learns languages.

So the default pattern is:

Subject – Verb – Reflexive pronoun – (Adverbs / Objects)

Why isn’t there any article before två språk? Why not två de språk or something like that?

In Swedish, you don’t use an article in front of a plural noun when you already have a number word:

ett språk – a language
två språk – two languages (no ett and no de)
tre böcker – three books
fem städer – five cities

So:

Indefinite singular: ett språk
Indefinite plural with a number: två språk
Definite plural: språken – the languages

If you wanted to say “both (of) the languages”, you’d use a definite form:

Hon lär sig båda språken. – She learns both (of) the languages.

Why does språk look the same in singular and plural?

Språk is a neuter noun whose indefinite singular and indefinite plural forms look the same:

ett språk – one language
två språk – two languages
flera språk – several languages

To see that it’s plural, you rely on the number word (två, flera, många, etc.) or context.

The forms are:

Indefinite singular: ett språk
Definite singular: språket – the language
Indefinite plural: språk
Definite plural: språken – the languages

Why is it två språk and not something with båda or både?

Två simply means “two.” It just tells you the number:

Hon lär sig två språk. – She learns two languages.

Båda and både are used for “both.” They’re slightly different:

båda + definite noun
- Hon lär sig båda språken. – She learns both (of) the languages.
  (Here språken is definite: the languages.)
både … och … (both … and …)
- Hon lär sig både svenska och engelska. – She is learning both Swedish and English.
  (Here you drop språk; svenska and engelska stand on their own.)

Your sentence with två språk is neutral and just states the number, without the “both” nuance.

Why are svenska and engelska not capitalized?

In Swedish, names of languages and nationalities are not capitalized.

So you write:

svenska – Swedish (language)
engelska – English (language)
tyska – German
spanska – Spanish

Likewise, days of the week and months are also not capitalized:

måndag, tisdag – Monday, Tuesday
januari, februari – January, February

Only proper names (people, countries, cities, etc.) are capitalized:

Sverige, England, Stockholm, Anna

Why is there a comma before svenska och engelska?

Here, “två språk, svenska och engelska” is not a simple list of three items. Instead, “svenska och engelska” explains or specifies what the “two languages” are.

This use is called apposition: a noun (två språk) followed by another phrase that identifies it more precisely (svenska och engelska). In Swedish, a comma is normally used between a noun and an apposition:

Min bror, Johan, bor i Uppsala. – My brother, Johan, lives in Uppsala.
Hon lär sig två språk, svenska och engelska.

You could also write it with a colon to emphasize the explanation:

Hon lär sig två språk: svenska och engelska.

But the comma version is completely normal and correct.

Are svenska and engelska nouns or adjectives here?

In this sentence, svenska and engelska are being used as nouns meaning “the Swedish language” and “the English language.”

Compare:

As nouns (languages):
- Hon lär sig svenska. – She is learning Swedish.
- Jag talar engelska. – I speak English.
- Svenska är svårt. – Swedish is difficult.
As adjectives (describing something):
- en svensk bok – a Swedish book
- engelska ord – English words
- svenska filmer – Swedish films

When used as a language name on its own, the feminine form in -ska (svenska, engelska, tyska, etc.) normally functions as a noun.

Does Hon lär sig två språk mean “She learns two languages” or “She is learning two languages”?

It can mean both. Swedish has only one present tense, and it covers:

English simple present: She learns two languages (in general).
English present continuous: She is learning two languages (right now / these days).

The context decides how you interpret it.

If you really want to stress the ongoing process (like English “is in the middle of learning”), you can say:

Hon håller på att lära sig två språk. – She is in the process of learning two languages.
Just nu håller hon på att lära sig svenska och engelska. – Right now she’s learning Swedish and English.

How are Hon, lär, sig, två, språk, svenska, and engelska pronounced?

Approximate Standard Swedish pronunciations (using rough English-like hints):

Hon – /hʊn/
- Like “hoon,” but shorter and more rounded.
lär – /lɛːr/
- ä like the “e” in “bet”, but longer. Something like “lair” with a shorter “r.”
sig – commonly /sej/
- Very often pronounced like “say” with a y glide: “sai”.
- In many dialects: mig, dig, sig are pronounced “mej, dej, sej.”
två – /tvoː/
- Close to “tvaw,” with a long vowel.
språk – /sprɔːk/
- å like the “aw” in “law”, but longer: “sprawk.”
svenska – /ˈsvɛn.ska/
- e like in “bed”, stress on the first syllable: SVEN-ska.
engelska – /ˈeŋ.ɛl.ska/
- Similar to English “ENG-el-ska,” with stress on ENG.

These are approximate; real Swedish pronunciation has some sounds that don’t exist in English, but these come reasonably close.

Could I also say Hen lär sig två språk instead of Hon lär sig två språk?

Yes.

hon = she
han = he
hen = gender‑neutral singular pronoun

So depending on what you want:

Hon lär sig två språk. – She learns two languages.
Han lär sig två språk. – He learns two languages.
Hen lär sig två språk. – They (gender‑neutral, singular) learn two languages.

The verb and sig stay exactly the same; only the subject pronoun changes.