untergehenvsuntergehtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#13,967
“untergehen” frequency rank
#21,100
“untergeht” frequency rank
35067
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature untergehen untergeht
Definition versinken, unter oder in etwas verschwinden; nicht mehr hörbar sein, weil durch andere Geräusche oder Lärm übertönt 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv der Nebensatzkonjugation des Verbs untergehen

Where the eye mixes untergehen and untergeht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. untergehen runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVCVC) against untergeht's 9 (VCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
untergehen
9 ch
untergeht

Why the eye confuses untergehen with untergeht

A purely visual mix-up. untergehen ([ˈʊntɐˌɡeːən]) and untergeht ([ˈʊntɐˌɡeːt]) 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 35067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

untergehen is recorded at frequency rank #13,967, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌɡeːən]. untergeht is at rank #21,100, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌɡeːt].

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 35067, this pair ranks #1,648,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of untergehen vs untergeht

Shared letters: eghnrtu. Private to "untergehen": -. Private to "untergeht": -.

"untergehen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "untergeht" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • untergehen ← nutergehen · unetrgehen · unntergehen · untegrehen · untereghen · untergeehn · untergehenn · untergehhen
  • untergeht ← nutergeht · unetrgeht · unntergeht · untegreht · untereght · untergehht · untergehtt · untergeth

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "untergehen" and "untergeht" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊntɐˌɡeːən] versus [ˈʊntɐˌɡeːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "untergehen" or "untergeht"?
"untergehen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,967 in our German list, against #21,100 for "untergeht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "untergehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "untergeht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,648,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "untergehen" and "untergeht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "untergeht vs untersteht". 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 #1,648,855 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