ÜberschwemmungvsÜberschwemmungenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,171
“Überschwemmung” frequency rank
#20,478
“Überschwemmungen” frequency rank
59649
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Überschwemmung Überschwemmungen
Definition Zustand, der eintritt, wenn Gewässer über die Ufer treten und umliegende Gebiete unter Wasser setzen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Überschwemmung

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Überschwemmung and Überschwemmungen apart are highlighted. They share 14 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

14 ch
Überschwemmung
16 ch
Überschwemmungen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Überschwemmung ([yːbɐˈʃvɛmʊŋ]) and Überschwemmungen ([yːbɐˈʃvɛmʊŋən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Überschwemmung” sits inside “Überschwemmungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59649, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Überschwemmung is recorded at frequency rank #39,171, classified as anoun, pronounced [yːbɐˈʃvɛmʊŋ]. Überschwemmungen is at rank #20,478, tagged as anoun, pronounced [yːbɐˈʃvɛmʊŋən].

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 59649, this pair ranks #816,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Überschwemmung vs Überschwemmungen

Shared letters: bceghmnrsuwü. Private to "Überschwemmung": -. Private to "Überschwemmungen": -.

"Überschwemmung" · 14 letters · shape VCVCCCCCVCCVCC  ·  "Überschwemmungen" · 16 letters · shape VCVCCCCCVCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

Überschwemmung#39,171
Überschwemmungen#20,478

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Überschwemmung" and "Überschwemmungen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([yːbɐˈʃvɛmʊŋ] versus [yːbɐˈʃvɛmʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Überschwemmung" or "Überschwemmungen"?
"Überschwemmungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,478 in our German list, against #39,171 for "Überschwemmung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Überschwemmung vs Überschwemmungen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list