übertragenvsübertragenenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,228
“übertragen” frequency rank
#19,106
“übertragenen” frequency rank
21334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übertragen übertragenen
Definition ein Wort nicht im ursprünglichen Sinne verwendet Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs übertragen

Where the eye mixes übertragen and übertragenen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. übertragen runs 10 letters (VCVCCCVCVC) against übertragenen's 12 (VCVCCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
übertragen
12 ch
übertragenen

Look-alike desk: übertragen vs übertragenen

A purely visual mix-up. übertragen ([ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and übertragenen ([ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡənən]) 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) - “übertragen” sits inside “übertragenen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21334, 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]. übertragenen is at rank #19,106, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡənən].

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 21334, this pair ranks #1,887,495 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of übertragen vs übertragenen

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

"übertragen" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCCVCVC  ·  "übertragenen" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "übertragen" for "übertragenen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡn̩] versus [ˌyːbɐˈtʁaːɡənən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "übertragen" vs "übertragenen" - which ranks higher?
"übertragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,228 in our German list, against #19,106 for "übertragenen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "übertragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "übertragenen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,887,495 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "übertragen" and "übertragenen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übertragene vs übertragenen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,887,495 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