Which to use
“überholen” is a verb and “überzogen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,645
- “überholen” frequency rank
- #10,987
- “überzogen” frequency rank
- 23632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | überholen | überzogen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit größerer Geschwindigkeit an jemandem oder etwas vorbeiziehen, das sich in die gleiche Richtung bewegt (auch im übertragenen Sinne) | unrealistisch überhöht |
Where the eye mixes überholen and überzogen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. überholen and überzogen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between überholen and überzogen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: überholen is [ˌyːbɐˈhoːlən] while überzogen is [ˌyːbɐˈt͡soːɡŋ̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
überholen is recorded at frequency rank #12,645, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈhoːlən]. überzogen is at rank #10,987, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈt͡soːɡŋ̩].
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 23632, this pair ranks #1,858,698 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of überholen vs überzogen
Shared letters: benorü. Private to "überholen": hl. Private to "überzogen": gz.
"überholen" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC · "überzogen" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "überholen" and "überzogen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "überholen" or "überzogen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "überholen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "überzogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,858,698 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "überholen" and "überzogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überflogen vs überzogen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,858,698 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.