Which to use
“überholt” and “unerhört” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,161
- “überholt” frequency rank
- #25,801
- “unerhört” frequency rank
- 33962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | überholt | unerhört |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht den jeweiligen Bedingungen der aktuellen Zeit entsprechend, durch Änderung der Verhältnisse oder Weiterentwicklung/Zugewinn an Kenntnissen; nur in einer vergangenen Zeit gültig | größer, stärker als zu erwarten ist |
Where the eye mixes überholt and unerhört
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. überholt and unerhört follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses überholt with unerhört
A purely visual mix-up. überholt ([ˌyːbɐˈhoːlt]) and unerhört ([ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈhøːɐ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
überholt is recorded at frequency rank #8,161, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈhoːlt]. unerhört is at rank #25,801, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈhøːɐ̯t].
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 33962, this pair ranks #1,674,156 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of überholt vs unerhört
Shared letters: ehrt. Private to "überholt": bloü. Private to "unerhört": nuö.
"überholt" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC · "unerhört" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "überholt" and "unerhört" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "überholt" or "unerhört"?
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 "überholt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unerhört" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,674,156 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "überholt" and "unerhört" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überhöht vs unerhört". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,674,156 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.