übertönen

[ˌyːbɐˈtøːnən]

/[ˌyːbɐˈtøːnən]/ verb

The verdict

“übertönen” is uncommon German (frequency #65,935 among 443 “Ü” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#65,935
frequency rank, German
443
“Ü” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - lauter tönen als eine Person oder Sache, sodass diese nicht gehört wird

Corpus desk

Index DE-ubertonen · übertönen · German

übertönen · rank #65,935 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #65,935
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 443
  • PHOTO-FINISH übertrafen

Nearest frequency peer: übertrafen (-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.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „übertönen“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „übertönen“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for übertönen
PropertyValue
Headwordübertönen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˌyːbɐˈtøːnən]
Letters9
Frequency rank#65,935
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „übertönen“ im Deutschen

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).übertönenfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „übertrafen“ (#65,934), „übersandt“ (#65,933), „Ärmelkanal“ (#65,931). Unter 443 „Ü“-Lemmata liegt „übertönen“ bei #65,935. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

übertönen is uncommon German at frequency #65,935 among 443 “Ü” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed [ˌyːbɐˈtøːnən]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for übertönen, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is übertönen, spelled Ü-B-E-R-T-Ö-N-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    lauter tönen als eine Person oder Sache, sodass diese nicht gehört wird
  2. 2
    die Aufmerksamkeit auf etwas in den Hintergrund drängen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Es geht heute nur noch darum, seine Anliegen hinauszuposaunen und dabei die lauteste Person im Raum zu übertönen.
  2. Das Dröhnen einer startenden Passagiermaschine übertönte die Stimme aus dem Handy.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

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 "übertönen"?
"übertönen" is spelled Ü-B-E-R-T-Ö-N-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌyːbɐˈtøːnən].
What does "übertönen" mean?
As a verb, "übertönen" means: lauter tönen als eine Person oder Sache, sodass diese nicht gehört wird
How do you pronounce "übertönen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "übertönen" is [ˌyːbɐˈtøːnən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "übertönen" come from?
"übertönen" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "übertönen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list