Which to use
“bien” is an adverb and “bieten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,924
- “bien” frequency rank
- #1,317
- “bieten” frequency rank
- 27241
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bien | bieten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vom Menschen her positiv bewertet | kundtun, dass man etwas zu leisten bereit ist; etwas zur Verfügung oder in Aussicht stellen, etwas zusichern |
Where the eye mixes bien and bieten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. bien runs 4 letters (CVVC) against bieten's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bien with bieten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bien is [ˈbjen] while bieten is [ˈbiːtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27241, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bien is recorded at frequency rank #25,924, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈbjen]. bieten is at rank #1,317, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbiːtn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 27241, this pair ranks #1,804,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bien vs bieten
Shared letters: bein. Private to "bien": -. Private to "bieten": t.
"bien" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "bieten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bien" and "bieten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bien" or "bieten"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bieten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,804,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bien" and "bieten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bien vs Brenz". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,804,973 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.