unterhaltevsuntermaltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#32,330
“unterhalte” frequency rank
#40,271
“untermalt” frequency rank
72601
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterhalte untermalt
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs unterhalten Partizip Perfekt des Verbs untermalen

Where the eye mixes unterhalte and untermalt

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

10 ch
unterhalte
9 ch
untermalt

Visual trap between unterhalte and untermalt

A purely visual mix-up. unterhalte ([ˌʊntɐˈhaltə]) and untermalt ([ˌʊntɐˈmaːlt]) 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 72601, 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]. untermalt is at rank #40,271, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈmaːlt].

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 72601, this pair ranks #383,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of unterhalte vs untermalt

Shared letters: aelnrtu. Private to "unterhalte": h. Private to "untermalt": m.

"unterhalte" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCV  ·  "untermalt" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterhalte ← nuterhalte · unetrhalte · unnterhalte · untehralte · unterahlte · unterhalet · unterhallte · unterhaltte
  • untermalt ← nutermalt · unetrmalt · unntermalt · untemralt · unteramlt · untermallt · untermaltt · untermatl

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "unterhalte" for "untermalt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʊntɐˈhaltə] versus [ˌʊntɐˈmaːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unterhalte" or "untermalt"?
"unterhalte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,330 in our German list, against #40,271 for "untermalt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "unterhalte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "untermalt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #383,753 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unterhalte" and "untermalt" 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 #383,753 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