unsernvsunterenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: unsern is a determiner, unteren is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#24,966
“unsern” frequency rank
#2,860
“unteren” frequency rank
27826
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unsern unteren
Definition Akkusativ Singular Maskulinum attributiv des Pronomens unser Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unter-

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
unsern
7 ch
unteren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: unsern is adeterminer and unterenanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27826, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unsern is recorded at frequency rank #24,966, classified as adet, pronounced […]. unteren is at rank #2,860, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntəʁən].

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 27826, this pair ranks #1,795,208 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of unsern vs unteren

Shared letters: enru. Private to "unsern": s. Private to "unteren": t.

"unsern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "unteren" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unsernnusern · unesrn · unnsern · unsenr · unsernn · unserrn · unsren · unssern
  • unterennuteren · unetren · unnteren · unteern · unterenn · unterne · unterren · untreen

Frequency comparison

unsern#24,966
unteren#2,860

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unsern" and "unteren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "unsern" is a determiner and "unteren" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "unsern" or "unteren"?
"unteren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,860 in our German list, against #24,966 for "unsern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering unsern vs unteren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a determiner, it's “unsern”; for an adjective, it's “unteren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “unsern” 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