übersetztvsüberspitztTell them apart

Quick tell: übersetzt is a adjective, überspitzt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“übersetzt” is an adjective and “überspitzt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,349
“übersetzt” frequency rank
#45,080
“überspitzt” frequency rank
48429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übersetzt überspitzt
Definition zu stark erhöht, zu hoch (angesetzt) Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überspitzen

Where the eye mixes übersetzt and überspitzt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. übersetzt runs 9 letters (VCVCCVCCC) against überspitzt's 10 (VCVCCCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
übersetzt
10 ch
überspitzt

Look-alike desk: übersetzt vs überspitzt

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: übersetzt is [ˌyːbɐˈzɛt͡st] while überspitzt is [ˌyːbɐˈʃpɪt͡st]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

übersetzt is recorded at frequency rank #3,349, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈzɛt͡st]. überspitzt is at rank #45,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈʃpɪt͡st].

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 48429, this pair ranks #1,248,918 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of übersetzt vs überspitzt

Shared letters: berstzü. Private to "übersetzt": -. Private to "überspitzt": ip.

"übersetzt" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCC  ·  "überspitzt" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "übersetzt" and "überspitzt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "übersetzt" is an adjective and "überspitzt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "übersetzt" vs "überspitzt" - which ranks higher?
"übersetzt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,349 in our German list, against #45,080 for "überspitzt". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "übersetzt" and "überspitzt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "übersetzt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überspitzt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,248,918 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "übersetzt" and "überspitzt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übersetzt vs unbesetzt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,248,918 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