Which to use
“überraschen” is a verb and “überraschte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,384
- “überraschen” frequency rank
- #20,147
- “überraschte” frequency rank
- 26531
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | überraschen | überraschte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden durch etwas Unerwartetes in Erstaunen setzen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs überrascht |
Where the eye mixes überraschen and überraschte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. überraschen (VCVCCVCCCVC) and überraschte (VCVCCVCCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: überraschen vs überraschte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: überraschen is [yːbɐˈʁaʃn̩] while überraschte is [yːbɐˈʁaʃtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
überraschen is recorded at frequency rank #6,384, classified as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈʁaʃn̩]. überraschte is at rank #20,147, tagged as anadj, pronounced [yːbɐˈʁaʃtə].
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 26531, this pair ranks #1,816,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of überraschen vs überraschte
Shared letters: abcehrsü. Private to "überraschen": n. Private to "überraschte": t.
"überraschen" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCCVC · "überraschte" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "überraschen" and "überraschte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "überraschen" vs "überraschte" - which ranks higher?
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 "überraschen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "überraschte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,816,591 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "überraschen" and "überraschte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überraschte vs überraschten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,816,591 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.