Hon frågar hur ett ord uttalas, eftersom stavningen ser svår ut.

Because ord is a neuter noun in Swedish, so it takes ett in the indefinite singular: ett ord.

Swedish nouns are divided into two grammatical genders:

• en words
• ett words

So:

• en bok = a book
• ett ord = a word

You simply have to learn which nouns are en nouns and which are ett nouns.

The -s marks the passive voice.

So uttalas means is pronounced.

Compare:

• Man uttalar ordet så här. = People pronounce the word like this. / One pronounces the word like this.
• Ordet uttalas så här. = The word is pronounced like this.

In your sentence, hur ett ord uttalas literally means how a word is pronounced.

Yes. Both are possible.

• hur ett ord uttalas = how a word is pronounced
• hur man uttalar ett ord = how one pronounces a word / how you pronounce a word

The version in your sentence is a little more impersonal and compact because it uses the passive. Both are very natural Swedish.

Because this is a subordinate clause, not a direct question.

Compare:

• Direct question: Hur uttalas ordet? = How is the word pronounced?
• Embedded question: Hon frågar hur ett ord uttalas. = She asks how a word is pronounced.

In embedded questions, Swedish usually keeps normal clause word order after the question word:

• hur ett ord uttalas
• var han bor
• vad hon heter

So even though it contains hur, it is not formed like a main question.

Because fråga normally means to ask, and here she is asking for information.

• Hon frågar hur ett ord uttalas. = She asks how a word is pronounced.

Fråga sig means to wonder or ask oneself:

• Hon frågar sig hur ett ord uttalas. = She wonders how a word is pronounced.

So adding sig changes the meaning.

Eftersom means because or since.

It introduces the reason:

• Hon frågar ..., eftersom stavningen ser svår ut.
• She asks ..., because the spelling looks difficult.

It is a subordinating conjunction, so it starts a subordinate clause.

Sometimes, yes, but eftersom is the better choice here.

• eftersom = because / since
• därför att = because
• för att often means in order to, though it can sometimes mean because in speech

In a clear written example like this, eftersom is very natural:

• ... eftersom stavningen ser svår ut.

If you used för att, some learners might confuse it with purpose:

• Hon frågar för att lära sig. = She asks in order to learn.

So eftersom is the safest and most precise choice here.

Stavningen means the spelling.

It comes from stavning = spelling, and the -en ending makes it definite:

• en stavning = a spelling
• stavningen = the spelling

So:

• stavningen ser svår ut = the spelling looks difficult

Because svår agrees with stavningen, and stavning is an en noun.

Here svår is a predicative adjective after ser ... ut:

• stavningen = an en word
• therefore: svår

Compare:

• En bok ser svår ut.
• Ett ord ser svårt ut.

So if the subject were an ett word, you would use svårt instead.

Because se ut is a phrasal verb meaning to look / appear.

So:

• ser ... ut = looks / appears

In Swedish, the particle ut is often separated from the verb:

• Han ser trött ut. = He looks tired.
• Det ser bra ut. = It looks good.
• Stavningen ser svår ut. = The spelling looks difficult.

So ser svår ut is a normal pattern.

Because subordinate clauses in Swedish normally do not use the inversion pattern of main clauses.

Main clause:

• Stavningen ser svår ut.

Subordinate clause after eftersom:

• eftersom stavningen ser svår ut

That same basic order is kept. Swedish inversion is mainly a main-clause feature, for example after an adverb:

• I dag ser stavningen svår ut.

But after eftersom, the clause remains subordinate, so no special question-style inversion happens.

Not always. In modern Swedish, commas are used less strictly than in English, and this comma is often optional.

So both of these can be seen:

• Hon frågar hur ett ord uttalas, eftersom stavningen ser svår ut.
• Hon frågar hur ett ord uttalas eftersom stavningen ser svår ut.

A comma may be used to make the sentence easier to read or to separate the reason clause more clearly.

Swedish present tense often covers both English simple present and present progressive.

So:

• Hon frågar can mean she asks
• or she is asking

The exact meaning depends on context. Swedish does not usually need a separate form like English is asking.

It is general: a word.

Because it is indefinite:

• ett ord = a word
• ordet = the word

So hur ett ord uttalas means how a word is pronounced, not how the word is pronounced.

If you wanted a specific word, you could say:

• Hon frågar hur ordet uttalas. = She asks how the word is pronounced.

Yes. Singular indefinite nouns are often used in Swedish, as in English, to talk about something in a general way.

So hur ett ord uttalas can mean:

• how a word is pronounced
• how one pronounces a word

It does not have to refer to one particular word unless the context makes that clear.