überquertevsüberquertenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,449
“überquerte” frequency rank
#49,430
“überquerten” frequency rank
78879
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überquerte überquerten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs überquert Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs überquert

Where the spellings diverge

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

10 ch
überquerte
11 ch
überquerten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. überquerte ([ˌyːbɐˈkveːɐ̯tə]) and überquerten ([ˌyːbɐˈkveːɐ̯tn̩]) 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) - “überquerte” sits inside “überquerten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überquerte is recorded at frequency rank #29,449, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈkveːɐ̯tə]. 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 78879, this pair ranks #228,517 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of überquerte vs überquerten

Shared letters: beqrtuü. Private to "überquerte": -. Private to "überquerten": n.

"überquerte" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVVCCV  ·  "überquerten" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVVCCVC

Frequency comparison

überquerte#29,449
überquerten#49,430

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überquerte" and "überquerten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈkveːɐ̯tə] versus [ˌyːbɐˈkveːɐ̯tn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "überquerte" or "überquerten"?
"überquerte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,449 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 überquerte vs überquerten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “überquerte” 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