Which to use
“unfähigen” and “unruhigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,068
- “unfähigen” frequency rank
- #36,685
- “unruhigen” frequency rank
- 83753
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unfähigen | unruhigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unfähig | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unruhig |
Where the eye mixes unfähigen and unruhigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. unfähigen and unruhigen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between unfähigen and unruhigen
A purely visual mix-up. unfähigen ([ˈʊnˌfɛːɪɡn̩]) and unruhigen ([ˈʊnʁuːɪɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83753, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unfähigen is recorded at frequency rank #47,068, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnˌfɛːɪɡn̩]. unruhigen is at rank #36,685, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʁuːɪɡn̩].
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 83753, this pair ranks #134,685 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of unfähigen vs unruhigen
Shared letters: eghinu. Private to "unfähigen": fä. Private to "unruhigen": r.
"unfähigen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC · "unruhigen" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unruhigen ← nuruhigen · unnruhigen · unrhuigen · unrruhigen · unruhgien · unruhhigen · unruhiegn · unruhigenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "unfähigen" for "unruhigen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "unfähigen" vs "unruhigen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "unfähigen" and "unruhigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "unfähigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unruhigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #134,685 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unfähigen" and "unruhigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unfähige vs unfähigen". 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 #134,685 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.