überlegtvsüberlegteTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#3,633
“überlegt” frequency rank
#24,223
“überlegte” frequency rank
27856
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überlegt überlegte
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überlegen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs überlegt

Where the eye mixes überlegt and überlegte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. überlegt runs 8 letters (VCVCCVCC) against überlegte's 9 (VCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
überlegt
9 ch
überlegte

Look-alike desk: überlegt vs überlegte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: überlegt is [ˌyːbɐˈleːkt] while überlegte is [ˌyːbɐˈleːktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “überlegt” 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 27856, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überlegt is recorded at frequency rank #3,633, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈleːkt]. 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 27856, this pair ranks #1,794,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of überlegt vs überlegte

Shared letters: beglrtü. Private to "überlegt": -. Private to "überlegte": -.

"überlegt" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCC  ·  "überlegte" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überlegt" and "überlegte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "überlegt" is a verb and "überlegte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "überlegt" or "überlegte"?
"überlegt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,633 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.

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 "überlegt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überlegte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,794,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überlegt" and "überlegte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überlegst vs überlegte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,794,714 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