Which to use
“bitten” and “brüten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,536
- “bitten” frequency rank
- #32,973
- “brüten” frequency rank
- 35509
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bitten | brüten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden in höflicher Form nach etwas fragen, sich in höflicher Form an jemanden wenden, jemanden um etwas ersuchen, einen Wunsch ausdrücken | Eiern Wärme zuführen, um die Entwicklung des Nachwuchses zu gewährleisten |
Where the eye mixes bitten and brüten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: bitten vs brüten
A purely visual mix-up. bitten ([ˈbɪtn̩]) and brüten ([ˈbʁyːtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35509, 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]. brüten is at rank #32,973, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁyːtn̩].
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 35509, this pair ranks #1,638,315 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bitten vs brüten
Shared letters: bent. Private to "bitten": i. Private to "brüten": rü.
"bitten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "brüten" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bitten ← bbitten · biten · bitetn · bittenn · bittne · btiten · ibtten
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bitten" and "brüten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "bitten" or "brüten"?
Useful next steps
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 "brüten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,638,315 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bitten" and "brüten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Blusen vs brüten". 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 #1,638,315 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.