unservsunsernWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: unser is a pronoun, unsern is a determiner, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“unser” is a pronoun and “unsern” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#335
“unser” frequency rank
#24,966
“unsern” frequency rank
25301
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unser unsern
Definition Personalpronomen 1. Person Plural Genitiv Akkusativ Singular Maskulinum attributiv des Pronomens unser

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set unser and unsern apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
unser
6 ch
unsern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: unser is apronoun and unsernadeterminer. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “unser” sits inside “unsern”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25301, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unser is recorded at frequency rank #335, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈʊnzɐ]. unsern is at rank #24,966, tagged as adet, pronounced […].

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 25301, this pair ranks #1,835,314 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of unser vs unsern

Shared letters: enrsu. Private to "unser": -. Private to "unsern": -.

"unser" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "unsern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unsernuser · unesr · unnser · unserr · unsser · usner
  • unsernnusern · unesrn · unnsern · unsenr · unsernn · unserrn · unsren · unssern

Frequency comparison

unser#335
unsern#24,966

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unser" and "unsern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "unser" is a pronoun and "unsern" a determiner, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "unser" or "unsern"?
"unser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #335 in our German list, against #24,966 for "unsern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering unser vs unsern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “unser”; for a determiner, it's “unsern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “unser” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list