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Confusables Entry 1125 / 1350 60-second read

Byte vs. Bite

A unit of digital information versus the action of teeth.

The comparisoni

✗ Wrong

The file is just 10 bites.

✓ Correct

The file is just 10 bytes.

The ruleii

BYTE = data. BITE = teeth.

A BYTE is a digital unit — 8 bits, enough to encode one character. A BITE is what your teeth do. The computing spelling was coined in the 1950s to avoid the collision — a deliberate Y.

Memory aidiii

Remember it like this

Bytes are data. Bites are food.

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