beißen

See also: beissen and béissen

German

Alternative forms

• beyßen
• beyssen
• beissen (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, sometimes also Luxembourg, South Tyrol)

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Middle High German bīzen, from Old High German bīzan, from Proto-Germanic *bītaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”). Cognate with Dutch bijten, Low German bieten, English bite, Danish bide, Swedish bita.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaɪ̯sən/, [ˈbäe̯sn̩]

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

1. (transitive or intransitive) to bite
2. (transitive or intransitive) to sting; to burn; to be sharp; to be spicy
3. (reflexive, slightly informal, of colors and clothes) to clash; to jar

Usage notes

• In English, bloodsuckers are said to “bite”. In German, beißen is generally used with crawling bloodsuckers only, while stechen (“to sting”) is used with flying bloodsuckers. Thus, you speak of a Flohbiss (“flea bite”), but a Mückenstich (“mosquite bite”).

Derived terms

• Beißen
• Beißer
• beißend
• Biss
• gebissen
• abbeißen
• anbeißen
• Hunde, die bellen, beißen nicht
• kaputtbeißen
• verbeißen
• zubeißen

Further reading

• “beißen” in Duden online