bitten (um)

1.

to ask, to plea

("jemanden+Acc bitten (um)" - Quite commonly used in contexts of a very polite request or asking for a favor. NOT a translation for "to bid".)
Examples
  • Kann ich dich um einen Gefallen bitten?
  • Can I ask you for a favor?

Word Family

Knowing relations between words can help understand their meanings and build a more connected vocabulary network. Here, you can explore parents and offspring and discover the whole family.

  • shows how many children or parents the word has
  • get the translations and a link
Loading word family…
Sources for Etymology:

Questions and Comments

Do you have questions about the usage or meaning of “bitten (um)”? Just ask here and I’ll try to clear it up.

guest

3 Comments
Newest
Oldest

Mateo
Mateo

Hi! Two questions on this:

(1) To use a math analogy, do you think “fragen + a sense of politeness = bitten”…? Or is it more nuanced than that?

(2) You list “to plea” as one meaning for bitten. In my mind, “plea” in English either has a sense of desperation (Example: “The captive pleaded for food and water, but he was ignored.”) or it is used in a judicial context (Example: “Although the former president pled ‘Not Guilty’ in his many court cases this year, nobody really believed that was true.”). Is this at all similar in German?

Emanuel
Emanuel
Reply to  Mateo

1)

Not sure if I’d agree. “fragen” tends to be about getting information while “bitten” is about getting an item or a deed.

2)

So “bitten” is not used in the context of “pleading in court”. It can be desperate, but the situation you mentioned is a bit too extreme for “bitten” and “betteln” or “flehen” would be better.

Let me know if that helps.

Mateo
Mateo
Reply to  Emanuel

It does, thank you. :)

How many meanings does the German word 'bitten (um)' have?

bitten (um) has 1 distinct meaning: 1. to ask, to plea.

What is the past tense of 'bitten (um)'?

hat gebeten / bat

What is 'bitten (um)' related to?

This is a standalone entry with no parent word listed.

Where can I learn more about 'bitten (um)'?

Check out the main YourDailyGerman Dictionary for more German vocabulary entries.