Hur ser jag ut i den här vita kjolen och den blåa skjortan?

How do I look in this white skirt and this blue shirt?

Breakdown of Hur ser jag ut i den här vita kjolen och den blåa skjortan?

• jag: I
• och: and
• i: in
• den här: this
• den: the
• hur: how
• blå: blue
• skjortan: the shirt
• vit: white
• kjolen: the skirt
• se ut: to look

Questions & Answers about Hur ser jag ut i den här vita kjolen och den blåa skjortan?

Why is it Hur ser jag ut and not just Hur ser jag?

In Swedish, att se ut is a phrasal verb meaning “to look / to appear” (visually).

• Hur ser jag ut? = How do I look? / What do I look like?
• Hur ser jag? would literally mean How do I see? (How is my vision?).

So the small word ut is essential for the meaning “look (appearance)”. Without ut, you’re talking about the act of seeing, not about how someone looks.

Why do you use ser and not är for “How do I look?”?

Swedish usually uses se ut for “look / appear” in the sense of visual impression:

• Hur ser jag ut? – How do I look?
• Han ser trött ut. – He looks tired.
• Det ser bra ut. – It looks good.

You can use vara (är) with adjectives:

• Jag är snygg. – I am good‑looking.

…but when you’re asking about someone’s appearance to others, especially in a specific situation (like wearing certain clothes), se ut is the normal verb.

Where is the English “do” in this question? Why isn’t it Hur gör jag ser ut?

Swedish does not use a “dummy do” like English.

• English: How do I look?
• Swedish: Hur ser jag ut?

In Swedish questions, you normally:

1. Put the question word first (Hur).
2. Then put the finite verb (ser) in second position.
3. Then the subject (jag).
4. Then the rest (ut i den här…).

So you never add an extra verb like gör here. Göra only appears when it has its own meaning (do, make), not just as a helper for questions.

Why is it i den här … kjolen and not med or på?

All three prepositions can appear with clothing, but they don’t feel the same:

• i (literally “in”) is very common with clothes you wear on your body:

  • Hur ser jag ut i den här kjolen? – How do I look in this skirt?
  • Hon är fin i rött. – She looks good in red.

• med (with) often emphasizes something as an accessory or addition:

  • Hur ser jag ut med den här hatten? – How do I look with this hat?
  • Han är snygg med skägg. – He looks good with a beard.

• på (on) is used for some specific items:

  • på fötterna, på huvudet etc., and also in some fixed phrases.

In your sentence, i is the natural, default choice for clothing you’re dressed in.

Why is it den här and not det här?

Den vs det is about grammatical gender:

• den = used with en‑words (common gender)
• det = used with ett‑words (neuter)

The nouns here are:

• en kjol → kjolen → den här kjolen
• en skjorta → skjortan → den här skjortan

Both kjol and skjorta are en‑words, so they take den (not det).
If the noun were an ett‑word, e.g. ett rum (a room), you’d say:

• det här rummet – this room

Why is it den här vita kjolen och den blåa skjortan, and not repeating här: den här vita kjolen och den här blåa skjortan?

Both versions are grammatically correct:

• den här vita kjolen och den blåa skjortan
• den här vita kjolen och den här blåa skjortan

In practice, Swedish often drops “här” (or “där”) in the second part of a pair to avoid repetition, especially when it’s obvious you’re still talking about “this”:

• den här tröjan och den jackan
• de här skorna och de byxorna

So in your sentence, den blåa skjortan is still understood as “this blue shirt” from context.

Why are the adjectives vita and blåa, not vit and blå?

Adjectives in Swedish change form depending on:

• Gender/number (en/ett, singular/plural)
• Definiteness (indefinite/definite)
• Whether there is a definite article like den, det, de, den här, etc.

Basic pattern (with a common‑gender noun like kjol):

• Indefinite singular: en vit kjol – a white skirt
• Definite singular: den vita kjolen – the white skirt
• Indefinite plural: vita kjolar – white skirts
• Definite plural: de vita kjolarna – the white skirts

In your sentence:

• There is den här (a definite article).
• The noun is singular and definite: kjolen, skjortan.

So the adjective must be in the definite/“‑a” form:

• den här vita kjolen
• den blåa skjortan

Is blåa necessary? Could it be den blå skjortan instead of den blåa skjortan?

Yes, both forms are possible with blå:

• den blå skjortan
• den blåa skjortan

For many one‑syllable adjectives (especially colours) in the definite/“weak” form, Swedish allows both:

• den grå / gråa bilen – the grey car
• den fri / fria mannen (though fria is more normal here)

In modern standard Swedish, den blå skjortan is very common and neutral.
den blåa skjortan is also correct and widely used; the ‑a can feel a bit more emphatic or sometimes slightly more colloquial/old‑fashioned depending on context.

As a learner, you’re safe using:

• den blå skjortan
• den vita kjolen

(Here vit doesn’t have a short “no‑a” variant in the definite form, so it’s just vita.)

Why do the nouns end in ‑en and ‑an: kjolen, skjortan?

Those endings mark the definite singular (the‑form):

• en kjol → kjolen – a skirt → the skirt
• en skjorta → skjortan – a shirt → the shirt

For en‑words (common gender):

• Many take ‑en (e.g. stol → stolen, bil → bilen).
• Many that end in ‑a in the indefinite form change to ‑an (skjorta → skjortan, karta → kartan).

When you combine this with a definite article (den, den här) and an adjective, you get double definiteness:

• den här vita kjolen
• den blå(a) skjortan

Article (den här/den) + ‑a on the adjective + ‑en/‑an on the noun.

Could I say Hur ser jag ut i den här vita kjol och den blåa skjorta? without the ‑en / ‑an endings?

No, that would be incorrect. In Swedish, if the noun is definite and has an adjective in front, you need:

1. A definite article (den/det/de, den här, etc.)
2. The adjective in ‑a form.
3. The noun in definite form (‑en, ‑an, ‑et, ‑n, etc.).

So you should say:

• i den här vita kjolen – not vit kjol
• och den blåa skjortan – not blå skjorta

The version without ‑en/‑an would sound like mixing definite and indefinite forms, which is ungrammatical.

Can I drop jag and say Hur ser ut i den här vita kjolen …?

No. In Swedish, you normally must have the subject pronoun (like jag, du, han, hon) in a sentence, even in questions.

• Hur ser jag ut i den här kjolen? – correct.
• Hur ser ut i den här kjolen? – incorrect (unless you’re saying e.g. “How does it look in this skirt?” with det understood, but that’s very odd here).

Unlike in some languages, Swedish is not a “drop‑subject” language. You only leave out the subject in imperatives:

• Titta! – Look!
• But not in ordinary questions like this.

Could I use denna instead of den här?

Yes, grammatically you could say:

• Hur ser jag ut i denna vita kjol och den blåa skjortan?

But there are stylistic differences:

• den här is everyday, spoken and written, and very common.
• denna feels more formal, written, or bookish, and in everyday speech can sound a bit stiff or old‑fashioned.

In modern spoken Swedish, den här vita kjolen is much more natural than denna vita kjol in a casual context like asking someone’s opinion on your outfit.

Can I move the clothing phrase to the front, like: I den här vita kjolen och den blåa skjortan, hur ser jag ut?

Yes, that’s grammatically possible, but it sounds more stylistic or written. The neutral, everyday word order is the original one:

• Hur ser jag ut i den här vita kjolen och den blåa skjortan?

If you front the prepositional phrase:

• I den här vita kjolen och den blåa skjortan, hur ser jag ut?

…it’s still correct, but it can feel a bit dramatic, rhetorical, or poetic. Fine for emphasis, but not the default way to ask in casual conversation.