unklarvsunklareWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,661
“unklar” frequency rank
#39,084
“unklare” frequency rank
43745
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unklar unklare
Definition nicht deutlich zu erkennen, verschwommen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unklar

Where the eye mixes unklar and unklare

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
unklar
7 ch
unklare

Look-alike desk: unklar vs unklare

A purely visual mix-up. unklar ([ˈʊnˌklaːɐ̯]) and unklare ([ˈʊnˌklaːʁə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “unklar” sits inside “unklare”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43745, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unklar is recorded at frequency rank #4,661, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnˌklaːɐ̯]. unklare is at rank #39,084, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnˌklaːʁə].

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 43745, this pair ranks #1,408,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unklar vs unklare

Shared letters: aklnru. Private to "unklar": -. Private to "unklare": e.

"unklar" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC  ·  "unklare" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unklarnuklar · uknlar · unkalr · unkklar · unklarr · unkllar · unklra · unlkar
  • unklarenuklare · uknlare · unkalre · unkklare · unklaer · unklarre · unkllare · unklrae

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unklar" and "unklare" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊnˌklaːɐ̯] versus [ˈʊnˌklaːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unklar" or "unklare"?
"unklar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,661 in our German list, against #39,084 for "unklare". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "unklar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unklare" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,408,282 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unklar" and "unklare" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unklare vs unklaren". 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 #1,408,282 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