bittenvsbittetConfusable pair

Which to use

“bitten” and “bittet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,536
“bitten” frequency rank
#5,153
“bittet” frequency rank
7689
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bitten bittet
Definition jemanden in höflicher Form nach etwas fragen, sich in höflicher Form an jemanden wenden, jemanden um etwas ersuchen, einen Wunsch ausdrücken 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bitten

Where the eye mixes bitten and bittet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
bitten
6 ch
bittet

Look-alike desk: bitten vs bittet

A purely visual mix-up. bitten ([ˈbɪtn̩]) and bittet ([ˈbɪtət]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “bitten” becomes t in “bittet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7689, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bitten is recorded at frequency rank #2,536, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪtn̩]. bittet is at rank #5,153, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪtət].

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 7689, this pair ranks #1,987,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bitten vs bittet

Shared letters: beit. Private to "bitten": n. Private to "bittet": -.

"bitten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "bittet" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bittenbbitten · biten · bitetn · bittenn · bittne · btiten · ibtten
  • bittetbbittet · bitett · bittett · bittte · btitet · ibttet

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bitten" and "bittet" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbɪtn̩] versus [ˈbɪtət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bitten" or "bittet"?
"bitten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,536 in our German list, against #5,153 for "bittet". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bitten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bittet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,987,270 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bitten" and "bittet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bettelt vs bittet". 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 #1,987,270 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list