überschrieben

Überschrieben is the past participle form of the German verb überschreiben. The verb literally means to write over or on top of something, and in modern usage it most commonly denotes replacing existing content with new writing or data. As an adjective, überschrien kann describe a state resulting from that action, for example that content has been overwritten.

Etymology and form

The word is built from über- (over, above) and schreiben (to write). The resulting sense is to write over something that already exists. The participle is überschrien; the noun form is Überschreibung, used to refer to the act or result of overwriting. The passive construction is common: Die Datei wurde überschrieben.

Usage

In everyday German, Überschreibung appears primarily in technical, computing, and data-management contexts. It describes replacing original data with new data. Examples include data backups, file management, and memory operations: Die Festplatte wurde vollständig überschrieben, um die alten Daten zu löschen. Überschreibung is also used to refer to the process itself in general language: Die Überschreibung der Datei führte zum Verlust der ursprünglichen Informationen.

Contrast and related terms

Überschreiben is distinct from umschreiben, which means to paraphrase or rephrase, and from schreiben in general. Überschreibung as a noun focuses on the act or result of overwriting, rather than on composing anew text.

See also

Überschreibung (overwrite), überschreiben (to overwrite).