unterhaltsamvsunterhaltsamesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,146
“unterhaltsam” frequency rank
#42,889
“unterhaltsames” frequency rank
54035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterhaltsam unterhaltsames
Definition auf angenehme Weise die Zeit vertreibend Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unterhaltsam

Where the eye mixes unterhaltsam and unterhaltsames

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence.

12 ch
unterhaltsam
14 ch
unterhaltsames

Visual trap between unterhaltsam and unterhaltsames

A purely visual mix-up. unterhaltsam ([ˌʊntɐˈhaltzaːm]) and unterhaltsames ([ˌʊntɐˈhaltzaːməs]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “unterhaltsam” sits inside “unterhaltsames”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterhaltsam is recorded at frequency rank #11,146, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈhaltzaːm]. unterhaltsames is at rank #42,889, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈhaltzaːməs].

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 54035, this pair ranks #1,034,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unterhaltsam vs unterhaltsames

Shared letters: aehlmnrstu. Private to "unterhaltsam": -. Private to "unterhaltsames": -.

"unterhaltsam" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVC  ·  "unterhaltsames" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterhaltsamnuterhaltsam · unetrhaltsam · unnterhaltsam · untehraltsam · unterahltsam · unterhalltsam · unterhalstam · unterhaltasm
  • unterhaltsamesnuterhaltsames · unetrhaltsames · unnterhaltsames · untehraltsames · unterahltsames · unterhalltsames · unterhalstames · unterhaltasmes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "unterhaltsam" for "unterhaltsames" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʊntɐˈhaltzaːm] versus [ˌʊntɐˈhaltzaːməs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unterhaltsam" or "unterhaltsames"?
"unterhaltsam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,146 in our German list, against #42,889 for "unterhaltsames". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "unterhaltsam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unterhaltsames" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,034,635 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unterhaltsam" and "unterhaltsames" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterhaltsamer vs unterhaltsames". 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 #1,034,635 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