bisschen

== German == === Alternative forms === bißchen (pre-1996) bissel, bissl (colloquial in southern and eastern Germany) büschen, bissken (see pronunciation section) === Etymology === Adverbialized noun Bisschen, from Bissen (“a bit, bite”) +‎ -chen (“diminutive”) === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbɪsçən/ Rhymes: -ɪsçən (casual) IPA(key): /ˈbɪsjən/, /ˈbɪsən/ (colloquial in Westphalia, may be spelt bissken) IPA(key): /ˈbɪskən/ (colloquial in northern Germany, may be spelt büschen) IPA(key): /ˈbʏʃən/, /ˈbʏʒən/ === Adverb === bisschen (often with ein) (a) bit; (a) little Er spricht nur ein bisschen Englisch. ― He only speaks a little English. (with kein) (not a) bit ==== Usage notes ==== The word ein is rarely omitted in formal style, but is usually undeclined: mit ein bisschen Geduld, rather than the rarer mit einem bisschen Geduld (“with a bit of patience”). Compare the same in ein paar (where declension is even nonstandard). In vernacular German, ein is reduced to 'n or simply left out. The latter is particularly common when bisschen modifies an adjective or adverb: bisschen schneller (“a bit faster”). The adjective klein (“little”) is often endingless before bisschen, thus ein klein bisschen alongside ein kleines bisschen. The latter is preferred in formal style, but both are standard. The spelling bisschen has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform). In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it had already been standard since ⟨ß⟩ was deprecated in the 1930s. In the affected areas, the previous spelling (bißchen) is now less common, and may be regarded as a misspelling. === Further reading === “bisschen” in Duden online “bisschen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache