Which to use
“überliefert” is a verb and “überlieferte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,430
- “überliefert” frequency rank
- #33,409
- “überlieferte” frequency rank
- 45839
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | überliefert | überlieferte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überliefern | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs überliefert |
Where the eye mixes überliefert and überlieferte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. überliefert runs 11 letters (VCVCCVVCVCC) against überlieferte's 12 (VCVCCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses überliefert with überlieferte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: überliefert is [ˌyːbɐˈliːfɐt] while überlieferte is [ˌyːbɐˈliːfɐtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “überliefert” sits inside “überlieferte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
überliefert is recorded at frequency rank #12,430, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈliːfɐt]. überlieferte is at rank #33,409, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈliːfɐtə].
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 45839, this pair ranks #1,339,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of überliefert vs überlieferte
Shared letters: befilrtü. Private to "überliefert": -. Private to "überlieferte": -.
"überliefert" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVVCVCC · "überlieferte" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCVVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "überliefert" and "überlieferte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "überliefert" or "überlieferte" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "überliefert" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "überlieferte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,339,498 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "überliefert" and "überlieferte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überlieferte vs überlieferten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,339,498 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.