Which to use
“unschuldig” and “unschuldigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,299
- “unschuldig” frequency rank
- #17,164
- “unschuldigen” frequency rank
- 25463
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unschuldig | unschuldigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ohne Schuld, nicht schuldig | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs unschuldig |
Where the eye mixes unschuldig and unschuldigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. unschuldig runs 10 letters (VCCCCVCCVC) against unschuldigen's 12 (VCCCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses unschuldig with unschuldigen
A purely visual mix-up. unschuldig ([ˈʊnʃʊldɪç]) and unschuldigen ([ˈʊnʃʊldɪɡn̩]) 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) - “unschuldig” sits inside “unschuldigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unschuldig is recorded at frequency rank #8,299, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʃʊldɪç]. unschuldigen is at rank #17,164, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊnʃʊldɪɡn̩].
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 25463, this pair ranks #1,832,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of unschuldig vs unschuldigen
Shared letters: cdghilnsu. Private to "unschuldig": -. Private to "unschuldigen": e.
"unschuldig" · 10 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVC · "unschuldigen" · 12 letters · shape VCCCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unschuldig ← nuschuldig · uncshuldig · unnschuldig · unscchuldig · unschhuldig · unschludig · unschudlig · unschulddig
- unschuldigen ← nuschuldigen · uncshuldigen · unnschuldigen · unscchuldigen · unschhuldigen · unschludigen · unschudligen · unschulddigen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unschuldig" and "unschuldigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "unschuldig" or "unschuldigen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "unschuldig" and "unschuldigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "unschuldig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unschuldigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,832,887 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unschuldig" and "unschuldigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unschuldigen vs Unschuldiger". 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 #1,832,887 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.