überführenvsüberführtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,499
“überführen” frequency rank
#14,476
“überführt” frequency rank
35975
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überführen überführt
Definition einem Täter eine Tat nachweisen (auch übertragen, ironisch) 2. Person Plural Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs überfahren

Where the eye mixes überführen and überführt

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

10 ch
überführen
9 ch
überführt

Visual trap between überführen and überführt

A purely visual mix-up. überführen ([ˌyːbɐˈfyːʁən]) and überführt ([yːbɐˈfyːɐ̯t]) 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 35975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überführen is recorded at frequency rank #21,499, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈfyːʁən]. überführt is at rank #14,476, tagged as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈfyːɐ̯t].

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 35975, this pair ranks #1,627,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of überführen vs überführt

Shared letters: befhrü. Private to "überführen": n. Private to "überführt": t.

"überführen" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVC  ·  "überführt" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "überführen" and "überführt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈfyːʁən] versus [yːbɐˈfyːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "überführen" or "überführt"?
"überführt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,476 in our German list, against #21,499 for "überführen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "überführen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überführt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,627,015 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überführen" and "überführt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überführen vs unerfahren". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,627,015 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