Which to use
“übergehen” and “übersehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,339
- “übergehen” frequency rank
- #4,582
- “übersehen” frequency rank
- 20921
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | übergehen | übersehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von einem Ort, Zustand zu einem anderen wechseln | etwas oder jemanden nicht wahrnehmen; versehentlich nicht beachten |
Where the eye mixes übergehen and übersehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. übergehen and übersehen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: übergehen vs übersehen
A purely visual mix-up. übergehen ([ˈyːbɐˌɡeːən]) and übersehen ([yːbɐˈzeːən]) 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 a single letter - g in “übergehen” becomes s in “übersehen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20921, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
übergehen is recorded at frequency rank #16,339, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈyːbɐˌɡeːən]. übersehen is at rank #4,582, tagged as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈzeːən].
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 20921, this pair ranks #1,892,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of übergehen vs übersehen
Shared letters: behnrü. Private to "übergehen": g. Private to "übersehen": s.
"übergehen" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC · "übersehen" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "übergehen" and "übersehen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "übergehen" or "übersehen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "übergehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "übersehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,892,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "übergehen" and "übersehen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übergehen vs überlesen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,892,224 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.