unterbindenvsunterbringenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,965
“unterbinden” frequency rank
#16,025
“unterbringen” frequency rank
30990
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterbinden unterbringen
Definition eine Handlung stoppen, verhindern jemandem eine Bleibe, Unterkunft verschaffen

Where the eye mixes unterbinden and unterbringen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. unterbinden runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCCVC) against unterbringen's 12 (VCCVCCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
unterbinden
12 ch
unterbringen

Visual trap between unterbinden and unterbringen

A purely visual mix-up. unterbinden ([ʊntɐˈbɪndn̩]) and unterbringen ([ˈʊntɐˌbʁɪŋən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30990, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterbinden is recorded at frequency rank #14,965, classified as averb, pronounced [ʊntɐˈbɪndn̩]. unterbringen is at rank #16,025, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌbʁɪŋən].

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 30990, this pair ranks #1,736,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of unterbinden vs unterbringen

Shared letters: beinrtu. Private to "unterbinden": d. Private to "unterbringen": g.

"unterbinden" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "unterbringen" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterbinden ← nuterbinden · unetrbinden · unnterbinden · untebrinden · unterbbinden · unterbidnen · unterbindden · unterbindenn
  • unterbringen ← nuterbringen · unetrbringen · unnterbringen · untebrringen · unterbbringen · unterbirngen · unterbrignen · unterbrinegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "unterbinden" and "unterbringen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʊntɐˈbɪndn̩] versus [ˈʊntɐˌbʁɪŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "unterbinden" or "unterbringen" show up more?
"unterbinden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,965 in our German list, against #16,025 for "unterbringen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "unterbinden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unterbringen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,736,962 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unterbinden" and "unterbringen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überbringen vs unterbringen". 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 #1,736,962 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