Which to use
“übertreffen” and “übertroffen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,618
- “übertreffen” frequency rank
- #14,728
- “übertroffen” frequency rank
- 31346
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | übertreffen | übertroffen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | über seine persönlichen Leistungen hinausgehen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs übertreffen |
Where the eye mixes übertreffen and übertroffen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. übertreffen and übertroffen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between übertreffen and übertroffen
A purely visual mix-up. übertreffen ([yːbɐˈtʁɛfn̩]) and übertroffen ([yːbɐˈtʁɔfn̩]) 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 - e in “übertreffen” becomes o in “übertroffen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31346, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
übertreffen is recorded at frequency rank #16,618, classified as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈtʁɛfn̩]. übertroffen is at rank #14,728, tagged as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈtʁɔfn̩].
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 31346, this pair ranks #1,729,961 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of übertreffen vs übertroffen
Shared letters: befnrtü. Private to "übertreffen": -. Private to "übertroffen": o.
"übertreffen" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCVC · "übertroffen" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "übertreffen" for "übertroffen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "übertreffen" vs "übertroffen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "übertreffen" and "übertroffen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "übertreffen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "übertroffen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,729,961 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "übertreffen" and "übertroffen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übertreffen vs übertreten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,729,961 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.