till
/tɪl/
The Swedish preposition till expresses the English phrase 'to', indicating direction toward or arriving at a destination.
till is used to indicate a destination or the recipient of an action. It also functions as the word for 'until' when used in the context of time.
Meaning: in the direction of, and arriving at (prep)
Which one should you use?
While till indicates movement toward a destination or a recipient, the Swedish word mot is used to indicate movement 'towards' a direction without the implication of necessarily arriving.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/tɪl/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use till before a verb to express an infinitive. English speakers often confuse the preposition till with the infinitive marker att.
Did you know?
- The word till is also used in the common Swedish expression tillsammans, which means 'together' and literally translates to 'to one' or 'to one's side'.
- The word till descends from the Proto-Germanic word *tilą, which originally meant 'goal'.
- Swedish uses till in expressions of availability, like finns till salu, where it functions more like the English 'for' rather than 'to'.
Examples in context
- Ge den till mig.Give it to me.This example shows how to use till when designating a recipient.Tatoeba #4343564 by richke, translation #1241198 by xellugis
- Gå hem till Tom.Go to Tom's house.This sentence demonstrates using till to indicate a destination.Tatoeba #4441709 by richke, translation #4401083 by CK
- Det såg jag till.I saw to that.This example shows a different usage of till.Tatoeba #4357740 by richke, translation #3727977 by CM
- Jag ska gå till affären.I'm going to the store.
- Lägg böckerna till höger om datorn.Put the books to the right of the computer.
- Jag skickade ett mejl till min chef.I sent an email to my boss.
- Kommer du till festen ikväll?Are you coming to the party tonight?
- Jag köpte en present för min syster.I bought a present for my sister.
- Jag går till stranden imorgon.I'm going to the beach tomorrow.
- Kom till middagen på lördag!Come to dinner on Saturday!
- Ska vi gå till biografen ikväll?Shall we go to the cinema tonight?
- Vi cyklade till skolan imorse.We biked to school this morning.
- 958 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Oscar and Linnea are discussing their travel plans.
- OscarSka vi åka till Stockholm?Are we going to Stockholm?
- LinneaJa, vi ska åka dit imorgon.Yes, we are going there tomorrow.
- OscarNär ska vi åka till stationen?When are we going to the station?
- LinneaVi kan åka om en timme.We can go in an hour.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “to” translations and entries till, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries till, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
