German audio
All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| bitten | ask or request | a favor, help or permission | bat; hat gebeten |
| bieten | offer or provide | an opportunity, support or a bid | bot; hat geboten |
| beten | pray | a religious prayer or request | betete; hat gebetet |
bitten
Meaning and usage: Use bitten to make a request. It is more specific than asking a question: fragen seeks information, while bitten asks someone to give or do something. Bitten can also introduce a polite invitation or instruction.
Grammar: Strong verb: bittet, bat, hat gebeten. The person asked is accusative: jemanden bitten. Um + accusative names the request. A zu-infinitive can state the action requested.
Ich bitte die Kollegin um Hilfe.
I am asking my colleague for help.
Er bat mich, die Tür zu schließen.
He asked me to close the door.
bieten
Meaning and usage: Use bieten when someone supplies or makes an opportunity available. A course can offer practice, and a person can offer support. At an auction, bieten also means to bid; that is a different situation from asking for help.
Grammar: Strong verb: bietet, bot, hat geboten. A common pattern is jemandem etwas bieten: recipient in dative, offered thing in accusative. Auf + accusative can name an auction item.
Der Kurs bietet den Teilnehmenden viel Übung.
The course offers the participants plenty of practice.
Sie bot hundert Euro für das Fahrrad.
She offered one hundred euros for the bicycle.
beten
Meaning and usage: Use beten for prayer, silently or aloud. It can describe praying for another person, asking for something in prayer, or reciting a named prayer. It is not the usual verb for an everyday request to a colleague.
Grammar: Weak verb: betet, betete, hat gebetet. Für and um take accusative; zu takes dative for the addressee of prayer. A named prayer can be an accusative object.
Die Gemeinde betet für den Frieden.
The congregation is praying for peace.
Sie hat am Abend gebetet.
She prayed in the evening.
Overlap and context
Prayer may contain a request, so bitten and beten can refer to related actions in a religious context. Their ordinary functions remain different: bitten describes asking, while beten frames the act as prayer. Bieten reverses the direction of the exchange: the subject offers something. The past participles gebeten and geboten are especially useful clues in messages.
Common mistakes
- Do not use gebietet as the ordinary past participle of bieten; use geboten.
- Keep the requested person accusative with bitten, but the recipient dative with bieten.
- Do not write Ich bete dich um Hilfe for an ordinary request.
Memory aid: A requester bittet, an offerer bietet, a worshipper betet. Remember three past pairs: bat/gebeten, bot/geboten, betete/gebetet.
Try it
You want a colleague to send the file. Choose bitte, biete or bete: Ich ___ dich, mir die Datei zu schicken.
Show the answer
bitte
You request an action from dich. Biete would require something being offered; bete would describe prayer rather than this workplace request.