überfahrenvsÜberfahrtTell them apart

Quick tell: überfahren is a verb, Überfahrt is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“überfahren” is a verb and “Überfahrt” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,216
“überfahren” frequency rank
#22,589
“Überfahrt” frequency rank
34805
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überfahren Überfahrt
Definition mit einem Fahrzeug über jemanden rollen Übersetzen mit einem Wasserfahrzeug von einem Ufer zum anderen

Where the eye mixes überfahren and Überfahrt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. überfahren runs 10 letters (VCVCCVCCVC) against Überfahrt's 9 (VCVCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
überfahren
9 ch
Überfahrt

Visual trap between überfahren and Überfahrt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: überfahren is [yːbɐˈfaːʁən] while Überfahrt is [ˈyːbɐˌfaːɐ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überfahren is recorded at frequency rank #12,216, classified as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈfaːʁən]. Überfahrt is at rank #22,589, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈyːbɐˌfaːɐ̯t].

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 34805, this pair ranks #1,654,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of überfahren vs Überfahrt

Shared letters: abefhrü. Private to "überfahren": n. Private to "Überfahrt": t.

"überfahren" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVC  ·  "Überfahrt" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "überfahren" and "Überfahrt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "überfahren" is a verb and "Überfahrt" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "überfahren" vs "Überfahrt" - which ranks higher?
"überfahren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,216 in our German list, against #22,589 for "Überfahrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "überfahren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Überfahrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,654,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überfahren" and "Überfahrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überfahren vs unerfahrene". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,654,857 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