gebissenvsgemessenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gebissen is a verb, gemessen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gebissen” is a verb and “gemessen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,553
“gebissen” frequency rank
#4,350
“gemessen” frequency rank
22903
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebissen gemessen
Definition [1] Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beißen mit Hilfe eines Messgeräts genau erfasst

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gebissen and gemessen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
gebissen
8 ch
gemessen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gebissen is [ɡəˈbɪsn̩] while gemessen is [ɡəˈmɛsn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22903, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gebissen is recorded at frequency rank #18,553, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈbɪsn̩]. gemessen is at rank #4,350, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈmɛsn̩].

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 22903, this pair ranks #1,868,237 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gebissen vs gemessen

Shared letters: egns. Private to "gebissen": bi. Private to "gemessen": m.

"gebissen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gemessen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebissenegbissen · gbeissen · gebbissen · gebisen · gebisesn · gebissenn · gebissne · gebißen
  • gemessenegmessen · geemssen · gemesen · gemesesn · gemessenn · gemessne · gemeßen · gemmessen

Frequency comparison

gebissen#18,553
gemessen#4,350

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gebissen" and "gemessen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gebissen" is a verb and "gemessen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gebissen" or "gemessen"?
"gemessen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,350 in our German list, against #18,553 for "gebissen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gebissen vs gemessen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gebissen”; for an adjective, it's “gemessen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gebissen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list