unteresvsuntersWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: unteres is a adjective, unters is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“unteres” is an adjective and “unters” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,269
“unteres” frequency rank
#16,027
“unters” frequency rank
56296
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unteres unters
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unter- unter das

Where the eye mixes unteres and unters

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. unteres runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against unters's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
unteres
6 ch
unters

Why the eye confuses unteres with unters

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unteres is [ˈʊntəʁəs] while unters is [ˈʊntɐs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unteres is recorded at frequency rank #40,269, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈʊntəʁəs]. unters is at rank #16,027, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈʊntɐs].

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 56296, this pair ranks #945,778 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unteres vs unters

Shared letters: enrstu. Private to "unteres": -. Private to "unters": -.

"unteres" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "unters" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unteres ← nuteres · unetres · unnteres · unteers · unteress · unterres · unterse · untrees
  • unters ← nuters · unetrs · unnters · unterrs · unterss · untesr · untres · untters

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "unteres" and "unters" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "unteres" is an adjective and "unters" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "unteres" or "unters"?
"unters" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,027 in our German list, against #40,269 for "unteres". 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 "unteres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unters" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #945,778 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unteres" and "unters" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unteres vs uterus". 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 #945,778 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