Overladen means carrying too much — packed with more people or things than is wise. A van overladen with boxes sits low on its wheels; a boat can be overladen with passengers. Laden is an older word for “loaded,” so overladen sits right beside overloaded. Overloaded is what people say; overladen sounds a little more like a book, a newspaper, or a careful description. Writers also stretch it away from weight: a speech overladen with facts, a mind overladen with worry — too full, not only of boxes. If a truck is over the legal limit, Taiwan news will usually say 超載; overladen is the English word with the same picture.