Which to use
“bike” and “bist” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,516
- “bike” frequency rank
- #225
- “bist” frequency rank
- 9741
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bike | bist |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs biken | 2. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs sein |
Where the eye mixes bike and bist
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: bike vs bist
A purely visual mix-up. bike ([ˈbaɪ̯kə]) and bist ([bɪst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9741, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bike is recorded at frequency rank #9,516, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbaɪ̯kə]. bist is at rank #225, tagged as averb, pronounced [bɪst].
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 9741, this pair ranks #1,978,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bike vs bist
Shared letters: bi. Private to "bike": ek. Private to "bist": st.
"bike" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "bist" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bike" for "bist" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bike" or "bist"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "bike" and "bist" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bike" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,978,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bike" and "bist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bike vs Bims". 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 #1,978,505 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.