überleben

[ˌyːbɐˈleːbn̩]

/[ˌyːbɐˈleːbn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“überleben” has 13 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #3,632. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,632
frequency rank, German
443
“Ü” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - in einer gefährlichen Situation am Leben bleiben

Corpus desk

Index DE-uberleben · überleben · German

überleben · rank #3,632 · 13 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,632
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 443
  • PHOTO-FINISH öffnet

Nearest frequency peer: öffnet (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „überleben“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „überleben“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

überleben vs überlebt
78% similar
überleben vs überlege
78% similar
überleben vs überlegen
89% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for überleben
PropertyValue
Headwordüberleben
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˌyːbɐˈleːbn̩]
Letters9
Frequency rank#3,632
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „überleben“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.überlebenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „öffnet“ (#3,631), „überlegt“ (#3,633), „Zoll“ (#3,630). Unter 443 „Ü“-Lemmata liegt „überleben“ bei #3,632. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around überleben (IPA [ˌyːbɐˈleːbn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #3,632 among 443 “Ü” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for überleben, with forms such as "büerleben", "übberleben", and "übelreben". 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 13 confusable-pair relationships, "überlebt", "überlege", "überlegen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is überleben, spelled Ü-B-E-R-L-E-B-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    in einer gefährlichen Situation am Leben bleiben
  2. 2
    länger als jemand anderer leben
  3. 3
    veraltet sein; nicht mehr in die Gegenwart passen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how überleben appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Die Sanitäter, die zuerst am Unfallort waren, hatten schon den Eindruck, dass er wohl nicht überleben würde.
  2. Sie [meine Eltern] überlebten den Krieg, aber der Krieg überlebte auch in ihnen.

Synonyms

weiterlebenüberdauernveralten

This word in other languages

survive(English)sobrevivir(Español)survivre(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • büerleben
  • übberleben
  • übelreben
  • überelben
  • überlbeen
  • überlebben
  • überlebenn
  • überlebne
  • überleebn
  • überlleben
  • überrleben
  • übreleben
  • üebrleben

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of überleben - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

büerleben2übberleben1übelreben2überelben2überlbeen2überlebben1überlebenn1überlebne2
Edit distance from "überleben"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "überleben"?
"überleben" is spelled Ü-B-E-R-L-E-B-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌyːbɐˈleːbn̩].
What does "überleben" mean?
As a verb, "überleben" means: in einer gefährlichen Situation am Leben bleiben
What words are commonly confused with "überleben"?
"überleben" is commonly confused with "überlebt", "überlege", "überlegen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "überleben"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "überleben" is [ˌyːbɐˈleːbn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "überleben" come from?
"überleben" 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.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "überleben", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Aufnahmen#3,638vorkommen#3,626verbindet#3,623demnächst#3,644

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

Sprecher13 variantslaufenden13 variantsdefiniert13 variantsBielefeld13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list