Which to use
“unerwünscht” and “unerwünschten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,742
- “unerwünscht” frequency rank
- #26,205
- “unerwünschten” frequency rank
- 45947
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unerwünscht | unerwünschten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | nicht gewollt, nicht willkommen, entbehrlich | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unerwünscht |
Where the eye mixes unerwünscht and unerwünschten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. unerwünscht runs 11 letters (VCVCCVCCCCC) against unerwünschten's 13 (VCVCCVCCCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: unerwünscht vs unerwünschten
A purely visual mix-up. unerwünscht ([ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌvʏnʃt]) and unerwünschten ([ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌvʏnʃtn̩]) 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) - “unerwünscht” sits inside “unerwünschten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45947, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unerwünscht is recorded at frequency rank #19,742, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌvʏnʃt]. unerwünschten is at rank #26,205, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʔɛɐ̯ˌvʏnʃtn̩].
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 45947, this pair ranks #1,335,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of unerwünscht vs unerwünschten
Shared letters: cehnrstuwü. Private to "unerwünscht": -. Private to "unerwünschten": -.
"unerwünscht" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCCCC · "unerwünschten" · 13 letters · shape VCVCCVCCCCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "unerwünscht" and "unerwünschten" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "unerwünscht" or "unerwünschten" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "unerwünscht" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unerwünschten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,335,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unerwünscht" and "unerwünschten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unerwünschte vs unerwünschten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,335,768 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.