UnterhaltvsUnterhausWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,192
“Unterhalt” frequency rank
#29,833
“Unterhaus” frequency rank
40025
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Unterhalt Unterhaus
Definition materielle Absicherung für Personen eine von zwei Kammern eines Parlaments

Where the eye mixes Unterhalt and Unterhaus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Unterhalt (VCCVCCVCC) and Unterhaus (VCCVCCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
Unterhalt
9 ch
Unterhaus

Visual trap between Unterhalt and Unterhaus

A purely visual mix-up. Unterhalt ([ˈʊntɐˌhalt]) and Unterhaus ([ˈʊntɐˌhaʊ̯s]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40025, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Unterhalt is recorded at frequency rank #10,192, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌhalt]. Unterhaus is at rank #29,833, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌhaʊ̯s].

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 40025, this pair ranks #1,520,122 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Unterhalt vs Unterhaus

Shared letters: aehnrtu. Private to "Unterhalt": l. Private to "Unterhaus": s.

"Unterhalt" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "Unterhaus" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Unterhalt ← nuterhalt · unetrhalt · unnterhalt · untehralt · unterahlt · unterhallt · unterhaltt · unterhatl
  • Unterhaus ← nuterhaus · unetrhaus · unnterhaus · untehraus · unterahus · unterhasu · unterhauss · unterhhaus

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Unterhalt" and "Unterhaus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊntɐˌhalt] versus [ˈʊntɐˌhaʊ̯s]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Unterhalt" vs "Unterhaus" - which ranks higher?
"Unterhalt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,192 in our German list, against #29,833 for "Unterhaus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Unterhalt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Unterhaus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,520,122 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Unterhalt" and "Unterhaus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unterbau vs Unterhaus". 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 #1,520,122 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