Which to use
“unerklärlich” and “unerklärlichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,886
- “unerklärlich” frequency rank
- #47,794
- “unerklärlichen” frequency rank
- 90680
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unerklärlich | unerklärlichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht erklärbar, nicht nachvollziehbar | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unerklärlich |
Where the eye mixes unerklärlich and unerklärlichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. unerklärlich runs 12 letters (VCVCCCVCCVCC) against unerklärlichen's 14 (VCVCCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: unerklärlich vs unerklärlichen
A purely visual mix-up. unerklärlich ([ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯lɪç]) and unerklärlichen ([ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯lɪçn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “unerklärlich” sits inside “unerklärlichen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90680, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unerklärlich is recorded at frequency rank #42,886, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯lɪç]. unerklärlichen is at rank #47,794, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊnʔɛɐ̯ˈklɛːɐ̯lɪçn̩].
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 90680, this pair ranks #44,722 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of unerklärlich vs unerklärlichen
Shared letters: cehiklnruä. Private to "unerklärlich": -. Private to "unerklärlichen": -.
"unerklärlich" · 12 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCVCC · "unerklärlichen" · 14 letters · shape VCVCCCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unerklärlich" and "unerklärlichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "unerklärlich" or "unerklärlichen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "unerklärlich" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unerklärlichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,722 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unerklärlich" and "unerklärlichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unerklärliche vs unerklärlichen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #44,722 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.