Learn Hardcore Swedish: Jag vill skriva ner mina mål i min dagbok ikväll. - I want to write down my goals in my diary tonight.

Jag vill skriva. = I want to write (in general, maybe a story, a letter, anything).
Jag vill skriva ner mina mål. = I want to write my goals down (so they’re recorded somewhere).

The little word ner adds the meaning “down / into writing”, just like “down” in English changes write → write down.

Other common particle verbs with skriva:

skriva upp – to write up, to record (often something like a name or number)
skriva om – to rewrite, or to write about

Could I say “Jag vill att skriva ner mina mål”?

No, that is not correct in Swedish.

With vill (and other modal verbs like kan, ska, måste, brukar) you use the bare infinitive:

✅ Jag vill skriva ner mina mål. – I want to write down my goals.

You do use att if the object of “want” is a clause with a different subject:

✅ Jag vill att du skriver ner mina mål. – I want you to write down my goals.

So:

“Jag vill skriva …” = correct
“Jag vill att skriva …” = incorrect

Why is it “mina mål” but “min dagbok”?

Because mina / min have to agree with the number (singular/plural) and grammatical gender of the noun.

mål here is plural → use mina
- singular: ett mål – a goal
- plural: (flera) mål – goals
- so: mina mål – my goals
dagbok is singular and an en-word (common gender) → use min
- singular: en dagbok – a diary
- so: min dagbok – my diary

Summary:

min = my (singular, en-words)
mitt = my (singular, ett-words)
mina = my (plural, all genders)

When should I use min/mitt/mina and when should I use sin/sitt/sina?

In this sentence, min/mitt/mina is correct because the subject is “jag” (I).

The reflexive forms sin/sitt/sina are mainly used for third person (han, hon, den, det, de) when the thing belongs to the subject of the sentence.

Compare:

Jag vill skriva ner mina mål i min dagbok.
I want to write down my goals in my diary.
→ Use mina / min with jag.
Han vill skriva ner sina mål i sin dagbok.
He wants to write down his own goals in his own diary.
→ Use sina / sin because the owner is the third-person subject han.

If you said:

Han vill skriva ner hans mål i hans dagbok.

…it usually means someone else’s goals/diary (not his own).

Why is it “i min dagbok” and not “på min dagbok”?

In Swedish, you normally use:

i (in) for things you write in as a container or inside pages:
- i min dagbok – in my diary
- i min bok – in my book
- i tidningen – in the newspaper
på (on) is used when you write on a surface:
- på tavlan – on the (white)board
- på väggen – on the wall
- på ett papper – on a piece of paper

A diary is seen as something you write in, so: i min dagbok.

Can I move “ikväll” to another place in the sentence?

Yes. Common and correct options include:

Jag vill skriva ner mina mål i min dagbok ikväll.
Ikväll vill jag skriva ner mina mål i min dagbok.
Jag vill ikväll skriva ner mina mål i min dagbok. (possible, but a bit more formal/marked)

If you start the sentence with ikväll, remember Swedish V2 word order: the finite verb (vill) must be in second position:

✅ Ikväll vill jag …
❌ Ikväll jag vill … (wrong word order)

Is “ikväll” always one word? What about “i kväll”?

Both forms exist and mean “this evening / tonight”:

ikväll – very common, especially in modern, informal writing
i kväll – also correct; somewhat more traditional/formal style

In practice, you will see ikväll very often. The meaning is the same.

What’s the difference between “vill” and “ska” here? Could I say “Jag ska skriva ner mina mål i min dagbok ikväll”?

Both are possible, but they have different nuances:

Jag vill skriva ner mina mål ikväll.
= I want to write down my goals tonight.
→ Focus on desire / intention.
Jag ska skriva ner mina mål ikväll.
= I’m going to / I will write down my goals tonight.
→ Sounds more like a plan or a firm decision; a bit stronger than just wanting.

Both are grammatical; choose based on whether you want to stress wish (vill) or planned action/promise (ska).

Is there a difference between “skriva ner” and “skriva ned”?

They mean the same thing: to write down.

skriva ner – the most common modern spelling, more informal, everyday use
skriva ned – a bit more traditional/formal, still correct

So you could also write:

Jag vill skriva ned mina mål i min dagbok ikväll.

…but “skriva ner” is what you will usually see in contemporary Swedish.

Does “mål” only mean goals, or does it have other meanings?

Mål is a very flexible word. Common meanings:

Goal / aim / objective
- mina mål – my goals
- livsmål – life goals
Goal in sports (both the object and the score)
- Han gjorde tre mål. – He scored three goals.
Meal (in the phrase ett mål mat)
- ett mål mat – a meal (literally “a portion of food”)

In your sentence, context makes it clear that mål = goals/objectives, not meals.

How do you pronounce “mål”, “dagbok”, and “ikväll”?

Approximate guide (IPA + English hints):

mål – /moːl/
- å is like a long “aw” sound (similar to law but a bit lighter).
- The vowel is long; the l is short.
dagbok – [ˈdɑːɡˌbuːk]
- dag: a like in father, and the g is pronounced.
- bok: like book but with a long oo sound: /buːk/.
- First main stress on dag-, secondary on -bok (it’s a compound word).
ikväll – [iˈkvɛlː]
- i like English ee in see.
- ä like “e” in bed.
- The double l (ll) means a long consonant; you hold the l slightly longer.

You don’t need perfect IPA—just aim for long vowels before single consonants and short vowels before double consonants, which is a core Swedish pattern.

Why is “Jag” not always capitalized like “I” in English?

In Swedish, pronouns are not capitalized unless they are at the beginning of a sentence (or part of a title, etc.).

So:

At the start of a sentence: Jag vill skriva ner mina mål …
In the middle of a sentence: … att jag vill skriva ner mina mål …

Unlike English, Swedish does not capitalize jag everywhere. Only the standard sentence-capitalization rules apply.