übergabvsÜbergangWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#11,798
“übergab” frequency rank
#5,053
“Übergang” frequency rank
16851
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übergab Übergang
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs übergeben der Vorgang des Überschreitens oder Überquerens eines Hindernisses

Where the eye mixes übergab and Übergang

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. übergab runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against Übergang's 8 (VCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
übergab
8 ch
Übergang

Visual trap between übergab and Übergang

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: übergab is [ˌyːbɐˈɡaːp] while Übergang is [ˈyːbɐˌɡaŋ]. 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 16851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

übergab is recorded at frequency rank #11,798, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈɡaːp]. Übergang is at rank #5,053, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈyːbɐˌɡaŋ].

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 16851, this pair ranks #1,932,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of übergab vs Übergang

Shared letters: abegrü. Private to "übergab": -. Private to "Übergang": n.

"übergab" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "Übergang" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "übergab" for "Übergang" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "übergab" is a verb and "Übergang" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "übergab" or "Übergang"?
"Übergang" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,053 in our German list, against #11,798 for "übergab". 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 "übergab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Übergang" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,932,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "übergab" and "Übergang" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überbau vs übergab". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,932,472 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