Which to use
“Bitte” is a noun and “bitten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #183
- “Bitte” frequency rank
- #2,536
- “bitten” frequency rank
- 2719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Bitte | bitten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | höfliche Ausdrucksform eines Wunsches, einer Aufforderung, eines Ersuchens | jemanden in höflicher Form nach etwas fragen, sich in höflicher Form an jemanden wenden, jemanden um etwas ersuchen, einen Wunsch ausdrücken |
Where the eye mixes Bitte and bitten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Bitte is [ˈbɪtə] while bitten is [ˈbɪtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Bitte” sits inside “bitten”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Bitte is recorded at frequency rank #183, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɪtə]. bitten is at rank #2,536, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪtn̩].
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 2719, this pair ranks #2,001,738 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Bitte vs bitten
Shared letters: beit. Private to "Bitte": -. Private to "bitten": n.
"Bitte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "bitten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC