ÜbernahmevsÜbernahmenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,790
“Übernahme” frequency rank
#11,160
“Übernahmen” frequency rank
14950
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Übernahme Übernahmen
Definition Besitzergreifung, Fortführung einer Verwaltung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Übernahme

Where the eye mixes Übernahme and Übernahmen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Übernahme runs 9 letters (VCVCCVCCV) against Übernahmen's 10 (VCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Übernahme
10 ch
Übernahmen

Visual trap between Übernahme and Übernahmen

A purely visual mix-up. Übernahme ([ˈyːbɐˌnaːmə]) and Übernahmen ([ˈyːbɐˌnaːmən]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “Übernahme” sits inside “Übernahmen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14950, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Übernahme is recorded at frequency rank #3,790, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈyːbɐˌnaːmə]. Übernahmen is at rank #11,160, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈyːbɐˌnaːmən].

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 14950, this pair ranks #1,947,535 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Übernahme vs Übernahmen

Shared letters: abehmnrü. Private to "Übernahme": -. Private to "Übernahmen": -.

"Übernahme" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV  ·  "Übernahmen" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Übernahme" for "Übernahmen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈyːbɐˌnaːmə] versus [ˈyːbɐˌnaːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Übernahme" or "Übernahmen"?
"Übernahme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,790 in our German list, against #11,160 for "Übernahmen". 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 "Übernahme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Übernahmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,947,535 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Übernahme" and "Übernahmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Übernahmen vs übernehme". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,947,535 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