Which to use
“biete” is a verb and “biste” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,572
- “biete” frequency rank
- #25,926
- “biste” frequency rank
- 31498
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | biete | biste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bieten | bist du |
Where the eye mixes biete and biste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. biete (CVVCV) and biste (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: biete vs biste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: biete is [ˈbiːtə] while biste is [ˈbɪstə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “biete” becomes s in “biste”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31498, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
biete is recorded at frequency rank #5,572, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbiːtə]. biste is at rank #25,926, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈbɪstə].
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 31498, this pair ranks #1,726,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of biete vs biste
Shared letters: beit. Private to "biete": -. Private to "biste": s.
"biete" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "biste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "biete" and "biste" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "biete" or "biste" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "biete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "biste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,726,889 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "biete" and "biste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bible vs biste". 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 #1,726,889 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.