gebissenvsgewiesenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,553
“gebissen” frequency rank
#39,392
“gewiesen” frequency rank
57945
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gebissen gewiesen
Definition [1] Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beißen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs weisen

Where the eye mixes gebissen and gewiesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gebissen (CVCVCCVC) and gewiesen (CVCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
gebissen
8 ch
gewiesen

Why the eye confuses gebissen with gewiesen

A purely visual mix-up. gebissen ([ɡəˈbɪsn̩]) and gewiesen ([ɡəˈviːzn̩]) 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 57945, 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]. gewiesen is at rank #39,392, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈviːzn̩].

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 57945, this pair ranks #881,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gebissen vs gewiesen

Shared letters: egins. Private to "gebissen": b. Private to "gewiesen": w.

"gebissen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "gewiesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gebissenegbissen · gbeissen · gebbissen · gebisen · gebisesn · gebissenn · gebissne · gebißen
  • gewiesenegwiesen · geiwesen · geweisen · gewieesn · gewiesenn · gewiesne · gewiessen · gewiseen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gebissen" for "gewiesen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbɪsn̩] versus [ɡəˈviːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "gebissen" or "gewiesen"?
"gebissen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,553 in our German list, against #39,392 for "gewiesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "gebissen" and "gewiesen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gebissen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gewiesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #881,713 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gebissen" and "gewiesen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerieben vs gewiesen". 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 #881,713 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