überfliegenvsüberflogenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#47,896
“überfliegen” frequency rank
#48,665
“überflogen” frequency rank
96561
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überfliegen überflogen
Definition über etwas entlang fliegen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überfliegen

Where the eye mixes überfliegen and überflogen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. überfliegen runs 11 letters (VCVCCCVVCVC) against überflogen's 10 (VCVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
überfliegen
10 ch
überflogen

Why the eye confuses überfliegen with überflogen

A purely visual mix-up. überfliegen ([ˌyːbɐˈfliːɡn̩]) and überflogen ([ˌyːbɐˈfloːɡn̩]) 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 96561, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überfliegen is recorded at frequency rank #47,896, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈfliːɡn̩]. überflogen is at rank #48,665, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈfloːɡn̩].

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 96561, this pair ranks #6,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of überfliegen vs überflogen

Shared letters: befglnrü. Private to "überfliegen": i. Private to "überflogen": o.

"überfliegen" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCCVVCVC  ·  "überflogen" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überfliegen" and "überflogen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈfliːɡn̩] versus [ˌyːbɐˈfloːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "überfliegen" or "überflogen"?
"überfliegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #47,896 in our German list, against #48,665 for "überflogen". 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 "überfliegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überflogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #6,809 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überfliegen" and "überflogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überfielen vs überfliegen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #6,809 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