überquerenvsüberquertenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#12,431
“überqueren” frequency rank
#49,430
“überquerten” frequency rank
61861
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überqueren überquerten
Definition auf die andere Seite (von etwas) gelangen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs überquert

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set überqueren and überquerten apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
überqueren
11 ch
überquerten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: überqueren is [ˌyːbɐˈkveːʁən] while überquerten is [ˌyːbɐˈkveːɐ̯tn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überqueren is recorded at frequency rank #12,431, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈkveːʁən]. überquerten is at rank #49,430, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈkveːɐ̯tn̩].

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 61861, this pair ranks #733,924 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of überqueren vs überquerten

Shared letters: benqruü. Private to "überqueren": -. Private to "überquerten": t.

"überqueren" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVVCVC  ·  "überquerten" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVVCCVC

Frequency comparison

überqueren#12,431
überquerten#49,430

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überqueren" and "überquerten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "überqueren" is a verb and "überquerten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "überqueren" or "überquerten"?
"überqueren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,431 in our German list, against #49,430 for "überquerten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering überqueren vs überquerten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “überqueren”; for an adjective, it's “überquerten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “überqueren” 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