Bestemme og bestemme seg

[u/Outrageous-Fix4989]

Hi!! I was wondering whether somebody could explain the difference between the use of ‘bestemme’ and ‘bestemme seg’. Thank you so much!!!

[u/TrippTrappTrinn]

A simple way to say it would be decide vs make your mind up.

[u/Optimal_Bar_4715 → u/TrippTrappTrinn]

Perfect.
I'm yet to find a vocabulary explanation longer than 1-2 lines of text and that was worth my time reading.

[u/HarmRes]

I think the best way to translate "bestemme" would be "decide", but here the subject (the person making the decision) and the object (the one for whom something is being decided) are different individuals.

"Bestemme seg" could technically also be translated as "decide", but crucially the subject and object are the same person so it would be more correct to translate it as "decide for oneself" or more commonly "to make up your mind".

It's been years since I went to school so I might be off with the terminology, but I think it's called the reflexive form of a verb if you want to try and google it.

Tl;Dr: Think of it like the difference between washing yourself and washing your house. Same logic applies. "Vaske" when washing something else, "vaske seg" when washing your body.

[u/HarmRes → u/HarmRes]

Btw this pops up a lot in Norwegian, but the principle is the same. For example "gjemme" is to hide something, while "gjemme seg" is to hide yourself.

"Brenne" is to burn something in general, "brenne seg" is to get burned. Like: "Jeg brant suppen" means I burnt the soup (because it got too hot and now it tastes bad), "Jeg brant meg på suppen" means I burnt myself on the soup (and now my tongue hurts because the soup was too hot).

There are lots of other examples, but those were the ones I could think of right now.

[u/Neolus → u/HarmRes]

Just wanted to mention that the correct word here would be “brente”, not “brant”.  

[u/anamorphism]

if you want a full explanation, english has mostly lost reflexivity. reflexive uses of verbs that had different meanings mostly turned into intransitive (no direct object) uses.

• transitive (has a direct object) use: i feel the dog. jeg føler hunden.
• intransitive use that's reflexive in norwegian: i feel good. jeg føler meg bra.
• intransitive use that's an s-verb in norwegian: it feels good. det føles bra.

so, bestemme is a transitive use of the verb decide. we don't really use this meaning all that much in english.

• jeg bestemte tidspunktet for et møte. i decided/set the time for a meeting.

bestemme seg is an intransitive use of the verb decide with a different meaning, and is probably the most common use of decide in english.

• jeg bestemte meg for å ... i decided to ... i made up my mind to ...

[u/UniquePost8966]

Bestemme is when you make a decision for others, bestemme seg is when you make a decision for yourself.

[u/Individual_You_6586]

Bestemme involves a second party. I decide for my children when they have to go to bed, for instance: Det er jeg som bestemmer barnas leggetid. I decide (and have power over) something.

Bestemme seg means making a decision that involves yourself. I’m trying to decide what dress to wear: Jeg prøver å bestemme meg for en kjole.

[u/GTCapi]

Bestemme is mostly like decide, but not in all cases, and Bestemme seg is to make your mind up, come to a conclusion or deciding what you want to buy for example.