unerlaubtvsunerlaubtenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,681
“unerlaubt” frequency rank
#39,682
“unerlaubten” frequency rank
76363
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unerlaubt unerlaubten
Definition ohne Erlaubnis Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unerlaubt

Where the eye mixes unerlaubt and unerlaubten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. unerlaubt runs 9 letters (VCVCCVVCC) against unerlaubten's 11 (VCVCCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
unerlaubt
11 ch
unerlaubten

Look-alike desk: unerlaubt vs unerlaubten

A purely visual mix-up. unerlaubt ([ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯pt]) and unerlaubten ([ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯ptn̩]) 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) - “unerlaubt” sits inside “unerlaubten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76363, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unerlaubt is recorded at frequency rank #36,681, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯pt]. unerlaubten is at rank #39,682, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯ptn̩].

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 76363, this pair ranks #285,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of unerlaubt vs unerlaubten

Shared letters: abelnrtu. Private to "unerlaubt": -. Private to "unerlaubten": -.

"unerlaubt" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVVCC  ·  "unerlaubten" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unerlaubt ← nuerlaubt · uenrlaubt · unelraubt · uneralubt · unerlabut · unerlaubbt · unerlaubtt · unerlautb
  • unerlaubten ← nuerlaubten · uenrlaubten · unelraubten · uneralubten · unerlabuten · unerlaubbten · unerlaubetn · unerlaubtenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unerlaubt" and "unerlaubten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯pt] versus [ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌlaʊ̯ptn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unerlaubt" or "unerlaubten"?
"unerlaubt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,681 in our German list, against #39,682 for "unerlaubten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "unerlaubt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unerlaubten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #285,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unerlaubt" and "unerlaubten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unerlaubte vs unerlaubten". 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 #285,615 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