unbestimmtevsunbestimmtenConfusable pair

Which to use

“unbestimmte” and “unbestimmten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#20,098
“unbestimmte” frequency rank
#38,468
“unbestimmten” frequency rank
58566
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unbestimmte unbestimmten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unbestimmt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unbestimmt

Where the eye mixes unbestimmte and unbestimmten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. unbestimmte runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCCCV) against unbestimmten's 12 (VCCVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
unbestimmte
12 ch
unbestimmten

Visual trap between unbestimmte and unbestimmten

A purely visual mix-up. unbestimmte ([ˈʊnbəʃtɪmtə]) and unbestimmten ([ˈʊnbəʃtɪmtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “unbestimmte” sits inside “unbestimmten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58566, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unbestimmte is recorded at frequency rank #20,098, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnbəʃtɪmtə]. unbestimmten is at rank #38,468, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnbəʃtɪmtn̩].

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 58566, this pair ranks #857,852 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unbestimmte vs unbestimmten

Shared letters: beimnstu. Private to "unbestimmte": -. Private to "unbestimmten": -.

"unbestimmte" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCV  ·  "unbestimmten" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unbestimmte ← nubestimmte · ubnestimmte · unbbestimmte · unbesitmmte · unbesstimmte · unbestimmet · unbestimmtte · unbestimte
  • unbestimmten ← nubestimmten · ubnestimmten · unbbestimmten · unbesitmmten · unbesstimmten · unbestimmetn · unbestimmtenn · unbestimmtne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "unbestimmte" and "unbestimmten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊnbəʃtɪmtə] versus [ˈʊnbəʃtɪmtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unbestimmte" or "unbestimmten"?
"unbestimmte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,098 in our German list, against #38,468 for "unbestimmten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "unbestimmte" and "unbestimmten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "unbestimmte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unbestimmten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #857,852 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #857,852 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list