Which to use
“unter” is a preposition and “unterer” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #87
- “unter” frequency rank
- #28,896
- “unterer” frequency rank
- 28983
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unter | unterer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an einem tieferen Ort als | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unter- |
Where the eye mixes unter and unterer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: unter vs unterer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unter is [ˈʊntɐ] while unterer is [ˈʊntəʁɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “unter” sits inside “unterer”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28983, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unter is recorded at frequency rank #87, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈʊntɐ]. unterer is at rank #28,896, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntəʁɐ].
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 28983, this pair ranks #1,775,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of unter vs unterer
Shared letters: enrtu. Private to "unter": -. Private to "unterer": -.
"unter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "unterer" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unter" and "unterer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "unter" vs "unterer" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "unter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unterer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,775,113 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unter" and "unterer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterer vs unteres". 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 #1,775,113 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.