Which to use
“unbekannt” is an adjective and “Unbekannter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,077
- “unbekannt” frequency rank
- #9,282
- “Unbekannter” frequency rank
- 13359
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unbekannt | Unbekannter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von wenigen gekannt, nicht im Allgemeinwissen vorhanden | Person, die niemandem oder einer bestimmten Person nicht bekannt ist |
Where the eye mixes unbekannt and Unbekannter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. unbekannt runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCCC) against Unbekannter's 11 (VCCVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses unbekannt with Unbekannter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unbekannt is [ˈʊnbəkant] while Unbekannter is [ˈʊnbəˌkantɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “unbekannt” sits inside “Unbekannter”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unbekannt is recorded at frequency rank #4,077, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnbəkant]. Unbekannter is at rank #9,282, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊnbəˌkantɐ].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 13359, this pair ranks #1,958,497 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of unbekannt vs Unbekannter
Shared letters: abekntu. Private to "unbekannt": -. Private to "Unbekannter": r.
"unbekannt" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCC · "Unbekannter" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unbekannt ← nubekannt · ubnekannt · unbbekannt · unbeaknnt · unbekanntt · unbekant · unbekantn · unbekkannt
- Unbekannter ← nubekannter · ubnekannter · unbbekannter · unbeaknnter · unbekannetr · unbekannterr · unbekanntre · unbekanntter
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "unbekannt" for "Unbekannter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "unbekannt" vs "Unbekannter" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "unbekannt" and "Unbekannter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "unbekannt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Unbekannter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,497 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unbekannt" and "Unbekannter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unbekanntem vs Unbekannter". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,958,497 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.