Which to use
“bitten” and “blitzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,536
- “bitten” frequency rank
- #26,337
- “blitzen” frequency rank
- 28873
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bitten | blitzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden in höflicher Form nach etwas fragen, sich in höflicher Form an jemanden wenden, jemanden um etwas ersuchen, einen Wunsch ausdrücken | sich durch die Luft unter Lichtentstehung (elektrisch) entladen |
Where the eye mixes bitten and blitzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bitten with blitzen
A purely visual mix-up. bitten ([ˈbɪtn̩]) and blitzen ([ˈblɪt͡sn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28873, 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]. blitzen is at rank #26,337, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈblɪt͡sn̩].
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 28873, this pair ranks #1,777,051 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bitten vs blitzen
Shared letters: beint. Private to "bitten": -. Private to "blitzen": lz.
"bitten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "blitzen" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bitten" and "blitzen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "bitten" or "blitzen" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "bitten" and "blitzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bitten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blitzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,777,051 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bitten" and "blitzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Batzen vs blitzen". 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 #1,777,051 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.