überbringenvsunterbringenTell them apart

Which to use

“überbringen” and “unterbringen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,408
“überbringen” frequency rank
#16,025
“unterbringen” frequency rank
49433
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überbringen unterbringen
Definition jemandem etwas zustellen, geben, bringen jemandem eine Bleibe, Unterkunft verschaffen

Where the eye mixes überbringen and unterbringen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. überbringen runs 11 letters (VCVCCCVCCVC) against unterbringen's 12 (VCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
überbringen
12 ch
unterbringen

Why the eye confuses überbringen with unterbringen

A purely visual mix-up. überbringen ([ˌyːbɐˈbʁɪŋən]) and unterbringen ([ˈʊntɐˌbʁɪŋən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49433, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überbringen is recorded at frequency rank #33,408, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈbʁɪŋən]. unterbringen is at rank #16,025, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌbʁɪŋən].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 49433, this pair ranks #1,211,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of überbringen vs unterbringen

Shared letters: beginr. Private to "überbringen": ü. Private to "unterbringen": tu.

"überbringen" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCVC  ·  "unterbringen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterbringen ← nuterbringen · unetrbringen · unnterbringen · untebrringen · unterbbringen · unterbirngen · unterbrignen · unterbrinegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "überbringen" and "unterbringen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈbʁɪŋən] versus [ˈʊntɐˌbʁɪŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "überbringen" vs "unterbringen" - which ranks higher?
"unterbringen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,025 in our German list, against #33,408 for "überbringen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "überbringen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unterbringen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,211,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überbringen" and "unterbringen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überbringen vs Überlingen". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,211,711 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list