überschreitenvsüberschrittenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,492
“überschreiten” frequency rank
#6,262
“überschritten” frequency rank
15754
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überschreiten überschritten
Definition über etwas hinweggehen, etwas überqueren, etwas passieren 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs überschreiten

Where the eye mixes überschreiten and überschritten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. überschreiten (VCVCCCCCVVCVC) and überschritten (VCVCCCCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

13 ch
überschreiten
13 ch
überschritten

Look-alike desk: überschreiten vs überschritten

A purely visual mix-up. überschreiten ([ˌyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩]) and überschritten ([ˌyːbɐˈʃʁɪtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15754, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überschreiten is recorded at frequency rank #9,492, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩]. überschritten is at rank #6,262, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈʃʁɪtn̩].

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 15754, this pair ranks #1,941,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of überschreiten vs überschritten

Shared letters: bcehinrstü. Private to "überschreiten": -. Private to "überschritten": -.

"überschreiten" · 13 letters · shape VCVCCCCCVVCVC  ·  "überschritten" · 13 letters · shape VCVCCCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überschreiten" and "überschritten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈʃʁaɪ̯tn̩] versus [ˌyːbɐˈʃʁɪtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "überschreiten" vs "überschritten" - which ranks higher?
"überschritten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,262 in our German list, against #9,492 for "überschreiten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "überschreiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überschritten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,941,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überschreiten" and "überschritten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überschreiben vs überschreiten". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,941,403 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