ÜberlassungvsÜberlastungConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#39,170
“Überlassung” frequency rank
#25,014
“Überlastung” frequency rank
64184
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Überlassung Überlastung
Definition Übergabe eines Lebewesens oder einer Sache in jemandes Obhut zu starke Beanspruchung der Leistungsfähigkeit von jemandem oder etwas

Where the eye mixes Überlassung and Überlastung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Überlassung and Überlastung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
Überlassung
11 ch
Überlastung

Why the eye confuses Überlassung with Überlastung

A purely visual mix-up. Überlassung ([ˌyːbɐˈlasʊŋ]) and Überlastung ([yːbɐˈlastʊŋ]) 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 - s in “Überlassung” becomes t in “Überlastung”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Überlassung is recorded at frequency rank #39,170, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈlasʊŋ]. Überlastung is at rank #25,014, tagged as anoun, pronounced [yːbɐˈlastʊŋ].

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 64184, this pair ranks #650,511 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Überlassung vs Überlastung

Shared letters: abeglnrsuü. Private to "Überlassung": -. Private to "Überlastung": t.

"Überlassung" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Überlastung" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Überlassung" and "Überlastung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈlasʊŋ] versus [yːbɐˈlastʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Überlassung" vs "Überlastung" - which ranks higher?
"Überlastung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,014 in our German list, against #39,170 for "Überlassung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Überlassung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Überlastung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #650,511 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Überlassung" and "Überlastung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Überlassung vs Unterlassung". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #650,511 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