Which to use
“überraschte” and “überraschten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,147
- “überraschte” frequency rank
- #49,431
- “überraschten” frequency rank
- 69578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | überraschte | überraschten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs überrascht | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs überrascht |
Where the eye mixes überraschte and überraschten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. überraschte runs 11 letters (VCVCCVCCCCV) against überraschten's 12 (VCVCCVCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: überraschte vs überraschten
A purely visual mix-up. überraschte ([yːbɐˈʁaʃtə]) and überraschten ([yːbɐˈʁaʃtn̩]) 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) - “überraschte” sits inside “überraschten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
überraschte is recorded at frequency rank #20,147, classified as anadj, pronounced [yːbɐˈʁaʃtə]. überraschten is at rank #49,431, tagged as anadj, pronounced [yːbɐˈʁaʃtn̩].
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 69578, this pair ranks #472,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of überraschte vs überraschten
Shared letters: abcehrstü. Private to "überraschte": -. Private to "überraschten": n.
"überraschte" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCCCV · "überraschten" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCVCCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "überraschte" for "überraschten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "überraschte" vs "überraschten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "überraschte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "überraschten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #472,334 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "überraschte" and "überraschten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überdachten vs überraschten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #472,334 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.