übertragenvsübertrageneTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,228
“übertragen” frequency rank
#39,753
“übertragene” frequency rank
41981
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übertragen übertragene
Definition ein Wort nicht im ursprünglichen Sinne verwendet Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs übertragen

Where the eye mixes übertragen and übertragene

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. übertragen runs 10 letters (VCVCCCVCVC) against übertragene's 11 (VCVCCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
übertragen
11 ch
übertragene

Look-alike desk: übertragen vs übertragene

A purely visual mix-up. übertragen ([ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and übertragene ([ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡənə]) 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) - “übertragen” sits inside “übertragene”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41981, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

übertragen is recorded at frequency rank #2,228, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡn̩]. übertragene is at rank #39,753, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡənə].

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 41981, this pair ranks #1,463,218 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of übertragen vs übertragene

Shared letters: abegnrtü. Private to "übertragen": -. Private to "übertragene": -.

"übertragen" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCCVCVC  ·  "übertragene" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "übertragen" and "übertragene" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡn̩] versus [ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡənə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "übertragen" or "übertragene" show up more?
"übertragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,228 in our German list, against #39,753 for "übertragene". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "übertragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "übertragene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,463,218 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "übertragen" and "übertragene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überragende vs übertragene". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,463,218 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