bistår

Bistår is a present-tense form of the verb bistå used in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian to mean to assist or provide aid. It is the third-person singular present form, as in “han bistår” or “hun bistår,” and is commonly found in formal or official language as well as in everyday contexts that involve offering help or support.

The related nouns bistånd (Swedish) and bistand (Danish and Norwegian) denote aid or assistance and are used to refer to support provided by institutions, organizations or individuals. These terms appear in contexts such as welfare, humanitarian aid, or procedural guidance.

Etymology traces bistå to Old Norse bistá, meaning to help, with cognates across North Germanic languages. The word family also yields related forms such as bistod for the past tense in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, and bistått in some compound or perfect forms.

Usage notes: bistår governs a direct object or is used with med to indicate what is being supplied or aided. Examples include: “Staten bistår flyktingar med bostäder” (The state assists refugees with housing) and “Kommunen bistår innbyggarar med råd og veiledning” (The municipality provides residents with advice and guidance). In everyday speech, bistå is often found in more formal or institutional registers, whereas synonyms like hjälpa or give is in broader use in casual contexts.