überzeugtvsüberzeugtenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: überzeugt is a verb, überzeugten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“überzeugt” is a verb and “überzeugten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,798
“überzeugt” frequency rank
#28,494
“überzeugten” frequency rank
30292
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature überzeugt überzeugten
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs überzeugen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs überzeugt

Where the eye mixes überzeugt and überzeugten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. überzeugt runs 9 letters (VCVCCVVCC) against überzeugten's 11 (VCVCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
überzeugt
11 ch
überzeugten

Why the eye confuses überzeugt with überzeugten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: überzeugt is [yːbɐˈt͡sɔɪ̯kt] while überzeugten is [yːbɐˈt͡sɔɪ̯ktn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “überzeugt” sits inside “überzeugten”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

überzeugt is recorded at frequency rank #1,798, classified as averb, pronounced [yːbɐˈt͡sɔɪ̯kt]. überzeugten is at rank #28,494, tagged as anadj, pronounced [yːbɐˈt͡sɔɪ̯ktn̩].

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 30292, this pair ranks #1,750,735 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of überzeugt vs überzeugten

Shared letters: begrtuzü. Private to "überzeugt": -. Private to "überzeugten": n.

"überzeugt" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVVCC  ·  "überzeugten" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "überzeugt" for "überzeugten" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "überzeugt" is a verb and "überzeugten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "überzeugt" or "überzeugten"?
"überzeugt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,798 in our German list, against #28,494 for "überzeugten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "überzeugt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "überzeugten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,750,735 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "überzeugt" and "überzeugten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überzeugten vs überzeugter". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,750,735 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