sich auf die Zunge beißen

[zɪç aʊ̯f diː ˈt͡sʊŋə ˈbaɪ̯sn̩]

/[zɪç aʊ̯f diː ˈt͡sʊŋə ˈbaɪ̯sn̩]/ phrase

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“sich auf die Zunge beißen” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a phrase. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
25
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - sich beherrschen und etwas nicht sagen

Key facts for sich auf die Zunge beißen
PropertyValue
Headwordsich auf die Zunge beißen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[zɪç aʊ̯f diː ˈt͡sʊŋə ˈbaɪ̯sn̩]
Letters25
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sich auf die Zunge beißen” sits in German frequency

sich auf die Zunge beißen falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

sich auf die Zunge beißen is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as aphrase, transcribed [zɪç aʊ̯f diː ˈt͡sʊŋə ˈbaɪ̯sn̩]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "sich beherrschen und etwas nicht sagen".

sich auf die Zunge beißen has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is sich auf die Zunge beißen, spelled S-I-C-H- -A-U-F- -D-I-E- -Z-U-N-G-E- -B-E-I-S-S-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    sich beherrschen und etwas nicht sagen

This word in other languages

bite one's tongue(English)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sich auf die Zunge beißen"?
"sich auf die Zunge beißen" is spelled S-I-C-H- -A-U-F- -D-I-E- -Z-U-N-G-E- -B-E-I-SS-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [zɪç aʊ̯f diː ˈt͡sʊŋə ˈbaɪ̯sn̩].
What does "sich auf die Zunge beißen" mean?
As a phrase, "sich auf die Zunge beißen" means: sich beherrschen und etwas nicht sagen
How do you pronounce "sich auf die Zunge beißen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sich auf die Zunge beißen" is [zɪç aʊ̯f diː ˈt͡sʊŋə ˈbaɪ̯sn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sich auf die Zunge beißen" come from?
"sich auf die Zunge beißen" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “sich auf die Zunge beißen”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is S-I-C-H- -A-U-F- -D-I-E- -Z-U-N-G-E- -B-E-I-S-S-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [zɪç aʊ̯f diː ˈt͡sʊŋə ˈbaɪ̯sn̩] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list