überspringenvsübersprungenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,479
“überspringen” frequency rank
#36,155
“übersprungen” frequency rank
56634
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überspringen übersprungen
Definition ein Hindernis mit einem Sprung überwinden Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überspringen

Where the eye mixes überspringen and übersprungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. überspringen and übersprungen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

12 ch
überspringen
12 ch
übersprungen

Look-alike desk: überspringen vs übersprungen

A purely visual mix-up. überspringen ([ˌyːbɐˈʃpʁɪŋən]) and übersprungen ([ˌyːbɐˈʃpʁʊŋən]) 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 a single letter - i in “überspringen” becomes u in “übersprungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56634, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überspringen is recorded at frequency rank #20,479, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈʃpʁɪŋən]. übersprungen is at rank #36,155, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈʃpʁʊŋən].

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 56634, this pair ranks #932,688 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of überspringen vs übersprungen

Shared letters: begnprsü. Private to "überspringen": i. Private to "übersprungen": u.

"überspringen" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "übersprungen" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überspringen" and "übersprungen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈʃpʁɪŋən] versus [ˌyːbɐˈʃpʁʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "überspringen" or "übersprungen"?
"überspringen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,479 in our German list, against #36,155 for "übersprungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "überspringen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "übersprungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #932,688 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überspringen" and "übersprungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überbringen vs überspringen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #932,688 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