All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| testen | test or try out | performance and suitability | testete; hat getestet |
| prüfen | examine or assess | requirements, documents or candidates | prüfte; hat geprüft |
| überprüfen | verify or review | accuracy, condition or decisions | inseparable über-; hat überprüft |
| kontrollieren | check, monitor or control | tickets, work or a vehicle | -ieren participle: kontrolliert |
testen
Meaning and usage: Use testen when a test procedure or practical trial is central. You can test a product, a material or a person’s ability. Ausprobieren may be an appropriate translation when you try something to see whether it works for you.
Grammar: Weak verb: testete, hat getestet. The tested person or thing is accusative. Auf + accusative can name a tested property: etwas auf seine Festigkeit testen.
Wir testen die neue App auf zwei Geräten.
We are testing the new app on two devices.
prüfen
Meaning and usage: Use prüfen when you examine suitability, correctness or compliance with requirements. It also describes an examiner assessing a candidate. Checking a document need not involve a formal exam, despite the related noun Prüfung.
Grammar: Weak: prüfte, hat geprüft. The examined object is accusative. An ob-clause can state the question under investigation and places its conjugated verb at the end.
Bitte prüfen Sie, ob die Angaben vollständig sind.
Please check whether the information is complete.
überprüfen
Meaning and usage: Use überprüfen to check validity, functioning or correctness, or to reconsider a position or decision. It often suggests a verification or review, but an earlier explicit prüfen action need not have been mentioned.
Grammar: Inseparable über- in this verb: überprüfte, hat überprüft; no ge-. The object is accusative. A question or dass-clause can supply the content being verified.
Ich überprüfe die Adresse vor dem Versand.
I am checking the address before shipping.
kontrollieren
Meaning and usage: Use kontrollieren for checks and supervision: inspecting tickets or monitoring work. It can also mean commanding or keeping control of something. Therefore, the claim that German kontrollieren never means English control is incorrect.
Grammar: Weak -ieren verb: kontrollierte, hat kontrolliert, without ge-. The checked or controlled object is accusative. Auf + accusative can specify what is checked for.
Die Mitarbeiterin kontrolliert die Fahrkarten.
The employee is checking the tickets.
Der Fahrer konnte das Auto noch kontrollieren.
The driver could still control the car.
Overlap and context
Eine Rechnung prüfen, überprüfen or kontrollieren may all describe checking an invoice, with different emphasis. Testen is especially natural when trying its performance, rather than simply confirming a number. Überprüfen does not impose a universal rule that every action happens twice. Give your reader the exact task—accuracy, trial, compliance or supervision—when a bare verb leaves room for several interpretations.
Common mistakes
- Do not separate überprüfen as Ich prüfe über.
- Use getestet but kontrolliert: -ieren verbs do not add ge-.
- Do not limit kontrollieren to inspection; management or physical control senses are documented.
Memory aid: A trial tests; an examination assesses; verification checks a claim; monitoring keeps watch. These are emphasis cues, not four sealed categories that ban familiar overlapping uses.
Try it
Before posting a parcel, you confirm the address. Give one suitable verb: Ich ___ die Adresse.
Show the answer
überprüfe; prüfe or kontrolliere can also fit
The task is verification. Several verbs are natural here; the sentence does not provide a unique lexical answer. Teste would need a different testing context.