UnterbrechungvsUnterbrechungenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,958
“Unterbrechung” frequency rank
#22,185
“Unterbrechungen” frequency rank
33143
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Unterbrechung Unterbrechungen
Definition Zerteilung einer Verbindung; Öffnung einer Leitung, eines Rohres, eines Seils Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Unterbrechung

Where the eye mixes Unterbrechung and Unterbrechungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence. Unterbrechung runs 13 letters (VCCVCCCVCCVCC) against Unterbrechungen's 15 (VCCVCCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
Unterbrechung
15 ch
Unterbrechungen

Why the eye confuses Unterbrechung with Unterbrechungen

A purely visual mix-up. Unterbrechung ([ˌʊntɐˈbʁɛçʊŋ]) and Unterbrechungen ([ˌʊntɐˈbʁɛçʊŋən]) 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) - “Unterbrechung” sits inside “Unterbrechungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33143, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Unterbrechung is recorded at frequency rank #10,958, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈbʁɛçʊŋ]. Unterbrechungen is at rank #22,185, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈbʁɛçʊŋən].

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 33143, this pair ranks #1,692,353 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Unterbrechung vs Unterbrechungen

Shared letters: bceghnrtu. Private to "Unterbrechung": -. Private to "Unterbrechungen": -.

"Unterbrechung" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVCC  ·  "Unterbrechungen" · 15 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Unterbrechung ← nuterbrechung · unetrbrechung · unnterbrechung · untebrrechung · unterbbrechung · unterberchung · unterbrcehung · unterbrecchung
  • Unterbrechungen ← nuterbrechungen · unetrbrechungen · unnterbrechungen · untebrrechungen · unterbbrechungen · unterberchungen · unterbrcehungen · unterbrecchungen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Unterbrechung" and "Unterbrechungen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʊntɐˈbʁɛçʊŋ] versus [ˌʊntɐˈbʁɛçʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Unterbrechung" or "Unterbrechungen"?
"Unterbrechung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,958 in our German list, against #22,185 for "Unterbrechungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Unterbrechung" and "Unterbrechungen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Unterbrechung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Unterbrechungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,692,353 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Unterbrechung" and "Unterbrechungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterbrechen vs Unterbrechung". 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 #1,692,353 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