bistvsBitteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bist is a verb, Bitte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bist” is a verb and “Bitte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#225
“bist” frequency rank
#183
“Bitte” frequency rank
408
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bist Bitte
Definition 2. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs sein höfliche Ausdrucksform eines Wunsches, einer Aufforderung, eines Ersuchens

Where the eye mixes bist and Bitte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
bist
5 ch
Bitte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bist is [bɪst] while Bitte is [ˈbɪtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 408, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bist is recorded at frequency rank #225, classified as averb, pronounced [bɪst]. Bitte is at rank #183, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɪtə].

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 408, this pair ranks #2,005,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bist vs Bitte

Shared letters: bit. Private to "bist": s. Private to "Bitte": e.

"bist" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Bitte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bistbbist · bisst · bistt · bsit · ibst
  • Bittebbitte · bite · bitet · btite · ibtte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bist" and "Bitte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bist" is a verb and "Bitte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bist" or "Bitte"?
"Bitte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #183 in our German list, against #225 for "bist". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list