Which to use
“unterhalte” and “unterhalten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,330
- “unterhalte” frequency rank
- #3,217
- “unterhalten” frequency rank
- 35547
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unterhalte | unterhalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs unterhalten | etwas aufsagen, vorführen, vorspielen zur Zerstreuung |
Where the eye mixes unterhalte and unterhalten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses unterhalte with unterhalten
A purely visual mix-up. unterhalte ([ˌʊntɐˈhaltə]) and unterhalten ([ˌʊntɐˈhaltn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “unterhalte” sits inside “unterhalten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35547, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unterhalte is recorded at frequency rank #32,330, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈhaltə]. unterhalten is at rank #3,217, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈhaltn̩].
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 35547, this pair ranks #1,637,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of unterhalte vs unterhalten
Shared letters: aehlnrtu. Private to "unterhalte": -. Private to "unterhalten": -.
"unterhalte" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCV · "unterhalten" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unterhalte ← nuterhalte · unetrhalte · unnterhalte · untehralte · unterahlte · unterhalet · unterhallte · unterhaltte
- unterhalten ← nuterhalten · unetrhalten · unnterhalten · untehralten · unterahlten · unterhaletn · unterhallten · unterhaltenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "unterhalte" for "unterhalten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "unterhalte" or "unterhalten"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "unterhalte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unterhalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,637,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unterhalte" and "unterhalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterhalte vs untersagte". 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 #1,637,369 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.