übertreffen

[yːbɐˈtʁɛfn̩]

/[yːbɐˈtʁɛfn̩]/ verb

The verdict

“übertreffen” has 15 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #16,618. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,618
frequency rank, German
443
“Ü” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - über seine persönlichen Leistungen hinausgehen

Corpus desk

Index DE-ubertreffen · übertreffen · German

übertreffen · rank #16,618 · 15 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,618
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 443
  • PHOTO-FINISH überlässt

Nearest frequency peer: überlässt (-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 „übertreffen“

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

corpus weight

What this shows „übertreffen“ 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).

übertreffen vs übertreten
82% similar
übertreffen vs übertreiben
82% similar
übertreffen vs übertroffen
91% similar

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

Key facts for übertreffen
PropertyValue
Headwordübertreffen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[yːbɐˈtʁɛfn̩]
Letters11
Frequency rank#16,618
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „übertreffen“

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

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

Die Achse ist logarithmisch: jeder Tick markiert etwa zehnfach geringere Häufigkeit. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „überlässt“ (#16,617), „ägyptische“ (#16,616), „Zwiebel“ (#16,615). Unter 443 „Ü“-Lemmata liegt „übertreffen“ bei #16,618. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around übertreffen (IPA [yːbɐˈtʁɛfn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #16,618 among 443 “Ü” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for übertreffen, with forms such as "büertreffen", "übbertreffen", and "überrteffen". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "übertreten", "übertreiben", "übertroffen", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is übertreffen, spelled Ü-B-E-R-T-R-E-F-F-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    über seine persönlichen Leistungen hinausgehen
  2. 2
    größer / besser sein, als etwas zum Vergleich Benutztes

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Er übertraf seinen Speerwurfrekord um 50 cm.
  2. Frau Deneuve übertrifft alle anderen an Eleganz.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • büertreffen
  • übbertreffen
  • überrteffen
  • überrtreffen
  • überterffen
  • übertrefefn
  • übertrefen
  • übertreffenn
  • übertreffne
  • übertrfefen
  • übertrreffen
  • überttreffen
  • übetrreffen
  • übretreffen
  • üebrtreffen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of übertreffen - 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.

büertreffen2übbertreffen1überrteffen2überrtreffen1überterffen2übertrefefn2übertrefen1übertreffenn1
Edit distance from "übertreffen"

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 "übertreffen"?
"übertreffen" is spelled Ü-B-E-R-T-R-E-F-F-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [yːbɐˈtʁɛfn̩].
What does "übertreffen" mean?
As a verb, "übertreffen" means: über seine persönlichen Leistungen hinausgehen
What words are commonly confused with "übertreffen"?
"übertreffen" is commonly confused with "übertreten", "übertreiben", "übertroffen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "übertreffen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "übertreffen" is [yːbɐˈtʁɛfn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "übertreffen" come from?
"übertreffen" 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 "übertreffen", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list