UnterkünftevsUnterkünftenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,502
“Unterkünfte” frequency rank
#28,438
“Unterkünften” frequency rank
41940
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Unterkünfte Unterkünften
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Unterkunft Dativ Plural des Substantivs Unterkunft

Where the eye mixes Unterkünfte and Unterkünften

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.

11 ch
Unterkünfte
12 ch
Unterkünften

Why the eye confuses Unterkünfte with Unterkünften

A purely visual mix-up. Unterkünfte ([ˈʊntɐˌkʏnftə]) and Unterkünften ([ˈʊntɐˌkʏnftn̩]) 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) - “Unterkünfte” sits inside “Unterkünften”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41940, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Unterkünfte is recorded at frequency rank #13,502, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌkʏnftə]. Unterkünften is at rank #28,438, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌkʏnftn̩].

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 41940, this pair ranks #1,464,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Unterkünfte vs Unterkünften

Shared letters: efknrtuü. Private to "Unterkünfte": -. Private to "Unterkünften": -.

"Unterkünfte" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCV  ·  "Unterkünften" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Unterkünfte" and "Unterkünften" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊntɐˌkʏnftə] versus [ˈʊntɐˌkʏnftn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Unterkünfte" or "Unterkünften"?
"Unterkünfte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,502 in our German list, against #28,438 for "Unterkünften". 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 "Unterkünfte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Unterkünften" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,464,457 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Unterkünfte" and "Unterkünften" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unterkunft vs Unterkünften". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,464,457 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