überwältigenvsüberwältigtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#32,890
“überwältigen” frequency rank
#14,479
“überwältigt” frequency rank
47369
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überwältigen überwältigt
Definition einen Gegner im Kampf besiegen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs überwältigen

Where the eye mixes überwältigen and überwältigt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. überwältigen runs 12 letters (VCVCCVCCVCVC) against überwältigt's 11 (VCVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
überwältigen
11 ch
überwältigt

Visual trap between überwältigen and überwältigt

A purely visual mix-up. überwältigen ([yːbɐˈvɛltɪɡn̩]) and überwältigt ([yːbɐˈvɛltɪçt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überwältigen is recorded at frequency rank #32,890, classified as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈvɛltɪɡn̩]. überwältigt is at rank #14,479, tagged as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈvɛltɪçt].

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 47369, this pair ranks #1,286,677 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of überwältigen vs überwältigt

Shared letters: begilrtwäü. Private to "überwältigen": n. Private to "überwältigt": -.

"überwältigen" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVCVC  ·  "überwältigt" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "überwältigen" and "überwältigt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([yːbɐˈvɛltɪɡn̩] versus [yːbɐˈvɛltɪçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "überwältigen" or "überwältigt"?
"überwältigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,479 in our German list, against #32,890 for "überwältigen". 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 "überwältigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überwältigt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,286,677 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überwältigen" and "überwältigt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überwältigen vs überwältigende". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,286,677 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