überholen

/[ˌyːbɐˈhoːlən]/ verb

Letters

9 characters

Frequency Rank

#12,645

in German word usage

Misspellings

13

tracked variants

Confusables

4

similar word pairs

überholen is aGermanverb. It means: mit größerer Geschwindigkeit an jemandem oder etwas vorbeiziehen, das sich in die gleiche Richtung bewegt (auch im übertragenen Sinne) Pronounced [ˌyːbɐˈhoːlən]. Often confused with überholt and überzogen.

Key facts for überholen
PropertyValue
Headwordüberholen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˌyːbɐˈhoːlən]
Letters9
Frequency rank#12,645
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of überholen in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for überholen is 9 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˌyːbɐˈhoːlən]. Corpus data places it at rank #12,645 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for überholen, with forms such as "büerholen", "übberholen", and "übehrolen". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "überholt", "überzogen", "überholte", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is überholen, spelled Ü-B-E-R-H-O-L-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    mit größerer Geschwindigkeit an jemandem oder etwas vorbeiziehen, das sich in die gleiche Richtung bewegt (auch im übertragenen Sinne)
  2. 2
    überprüfen und gegebenenfalls reparieren

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: büerholen,übberholen,übehrolen,überhholen,überhloen,überhoeln,überholenn,überhollen,überholne,überohlen,überrholen,übreholen,üebrholen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for überholen

Misspelling Variants of "überholen"

büerholen9übberholen10übehrolen9überhholen10überhloen9überhoeln9überholenn10überhollen10
Misspelling Variants of "überholen"

Frequency rank: #12,645 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "überholen"?
"überholen" is spelled Ü-B-E-R-H-O-L-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌyːbɐˈhoːlən].
What does "überholen" mean?
As a verb, "überholen" means: mit größerer Geschwindigkeit an jemandem oder etwas vorbeiziehen, das sich in die gleiche Richtung bewegt (auch im übertragenen Sinne)
What words are commonly confused with "überholen"?
"überholen" is commonly confused with "überholt", "überzogen", "überholte". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "überholen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "überholen" is [ˌyːbɐˈhoːlən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "überholen" come from?
"überholen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter Ü in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.