tilbake

Tilbake is a Norwegian adverb and, in compounds, a bound morpheme meaning back, toward the origin, or in return. It describes movement toward a previous place or state, or the resumption of a process. In everyday language it occurs in verbs such as å komme tilbake (to come back), å gå tilbake (to go back), and å vende tilbake (to return). It can modify verbs, clauses, or adjectives in phrases like gå tilbake til normal drift, or komme tilbake til normal tilstand.

Etymology and cognates: Tilbake is formed from til, meaning to, and bak, meaning back. It has cognates in Danish (tilbage) and Swedish (tillbaka); Norwegian Bokmål and Nynorsk spell it tilbake as a single word. The sense of direction toward the rear or toward the origin reflects the Old Norse roots bak and til, developed into the modern particle used in Germanic languages.

Usage and meanings: Tilbake functions mainly as an adverb, but also appears in compound nouns and verbs to express repayment, reversal, or return. Common examples include tilbakebetaling (repayment) and tilbakekobling (a return connection or feedback loop in technical contexts). The related term tilbakemelding is the standard Norwegian word for feedback, though tilbake- compounds occur in specialized or formal language.

See also: return, back, repayment, feedback. The word is frequent in both spoken and written Norwegian and is understood in all varieties of the language.