überprüfevsüberprüftConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#45,728
“überprüfe” frequency rank
#4,581
“überprüft” frequency rank
50309
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überprüfe überprüft
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs überprüfen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überprüfen

Where the eye mixes überprüfe and überprüft

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. überprüfe (VCVCCCVCV) and überprüft (VCVCCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
überprüfe
9 ch
überprüft

Why the eye confuses überprüfe with überprüft

A purely visual mix-up. überprüfe ([yːbɐˈpʁyːfə]) and überprüft ([yːbɐˈpʁyːft]) 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 - e in “überprüfe” becomes t in “überprüft”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überprüfe is recorded at frequency rank #45,728, classified as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈpʁyːfə]. überprüft is at rank #4,581, tagged as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈpʁyːft].

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 50309, this pair ranks #1,178,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of überprüfe vs überprüft

Shared letters: befprü. Private to "überprüfe": -. Private to "überprüft": t.

"überprüfe" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCCVCV  ·  "überprüft" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überprüfe" and "überprüft" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([yːbɐˈpʁyːfə] versus [yːbɐˈpʁyːft]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "überprüfe" or "überprüft"?
"überprüft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,581 in our German list, against #45,728 for "überprüfe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "überprüfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überprüft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,178,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überprüfe" and "überprüft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überprüfe vs überprüfte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,178,596 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