ungebrochenvsunterbrochenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ungebrochen is a adjective, unterbrochen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ungebrochen” is an adjective and “unterbrochen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,358
“ungebrochen” frequency rank
#5,889
“unterbrochen” frequency rank
39247
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ungebrochen unterbrochen
Definition ohne Unterbrechung Partizip Perfekt des Verbs unterbrechen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ungebrochen and unterbrochen apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
ungebrochen
12 ch
unterbrochen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ungebrochen is [ˈʊnɡəˌbʁɔxn̩] while unterbrochen is [ˌʊntɐˈbʁɔxn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39247, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ungebrochen is recorded at frequency rank #33,358, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnɡəˌbʁɔxn̩]. unterbrochen is at rank #5,889, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈbʁɔxn̩].

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 39247, this pair ranks #1,541,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ungebrochen vs unterbrochen

Shared letters: bcehnoru. Private to "ungebrochen": g. Private to "unterbrochen": t.

"ungebrochen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "unterbrochen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ungebrochennugebrochen · ugnebrochen · unegbrochen · ungberochen · ungebbrochen · ungeborchen · ungebrcohen · ungebrocchen
  • unterbrochennuterbrochen · unetrbrochen · unnterbrochen · untebrrochen · unterbbrochen · unterborchen · unterbrcohen · unterbrocchen

Frequency comparison

ungebrochen#33,358
unterbrochen#5,889

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ungebrochen" and "unterbrochen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ungebrochen" is an adjective and "unterbrochen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ungebrochen" or "unterbrochen"?
"unterbrochen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,889 in our German list, against #33,358 for "ungebrochen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ungebrochen vs unterbrochen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “ungebrochen”; for a verb, it's “unterbrochen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ungebrochen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list