überlegvsüberlegteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: überleg is a verb, überlegte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“überleg” is a verb and “überlegte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,068
“überleg” frequency rank
#24,223
“überlegte” frequency rank
40291
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überleg überlegte
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs überlegen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs überlegt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set überleg and überlegte apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
überleg
9 ch
überlegte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: überleg is [ˌyːbɐˈleːk] while überlegte is [ˌyːbɐˈleːktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “überleg” sits inside “überlegte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überleg is recorded at frequency rank #16,068, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈleːk]. überlegte is at rank #24,223, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈleːktə].

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 40291, this pair ranks #1,512,707 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of überleg vs überlegte

Shared letters: beglrü. Private to "überleg": -. Private to "überlegte": t.

"überleg" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "überlegte" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV

Frequency comparison

überleg#16,068
überlegte#24,223

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überleg" and "überlegte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "überleg" is a verb and "überlegte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "überleg" or "überlegte"?
"überleg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,068 in our German list, against #24,223 for "überlegte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering überleg vs überlegte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “überleg”; for an adjective, it's “überlegte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “überleg” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list