bittvsbutWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bitt is a verb, but is a conjunction, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bitt” is a verb and “but” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,494
“bitt” frequency rank
#6,402
“but” frequency rank
50896
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bitt but
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bitten aber

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bitt and but apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
bitt
3 ch
but

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bitt is [bɪt] while but is [bʌt]. 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 conjunction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bitt is recorded at frequency rank #44,494, classified as averb, pronounced [bɪt]. but is at rank #6,402, tagged as aconj, pronounced [bʌt].

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 50896, this pair ranks #1,156,209 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bitt vs but

Shared letters: bt. Private to "bitt": i. Private to "but": u.

"bitt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "but" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bittbbitt · btit · ibtt

Frequency comparison

bitt#44,494
but#6,402

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bitt" and "but" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bitt" is a verb and "but" a conjunction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bitt" or "but"?
"but" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,402 in our German list, against #44,494 for "bitt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bitt vs but

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bitt”; for a conjunction, it's “but”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bitt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list