überlebtvsüberlegtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,673
“überlebt” frequency rank
#3,633
“überlegt” frequency rank
9306
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überlebt überlegt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überleben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überlegen

Where the eye mixes überlebt and überlegt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. überlebt and überlegt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
überlebt
8 ch
überlegt

Look-alike desk: überlebt vs überlegt

A purely visual mix-up. überlebt ([ˌyːbɐˈleːpt]) and überlegt ([ˌyːbɐˈleːkt]) 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 - b in “überlebt” becomes g in “überlegt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überlebt is recorded at frequency rank #5,673, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈleːpt]. überlegt is at rank #3,633, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈleːkt].

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 9306, this pair ranks #1,980,589 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of überlebt vs überlegt

Shared letters: belrtü. Private to "überlebt": -. Private to "überlegt": g.

"überlebt" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC  ·  "überlegt" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "überlebt" for "überlegt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈleːpt] versus [ˌyːbɐˈleːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "überlebt" vs "überlegt" - which ranks higher?
"überlegt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,633 in our German list, against #5,673 for "überlebt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "überlebt" and "überlegt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "überlebt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überlegt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,980,589 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überlebt" and "überlegt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überlebt vs überlegst". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,980,589 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