Which to use
“unterlag” is a verb and “Unterlagen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,761
- “unterlag” frequency rank
- #3,855
- “Unterlagen” frequency rank
- 14616
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unterlag | Unterlagen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs unterliegen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Unterlage |
Where the eye mixes unterlag and Unterlagen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. unterlag runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against Unterlagen's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses unterlag with Unterlagen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unterlag is [ˌʊntɐˈlaːk] while Unterlagen is [ˈʊntɐlaːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “unterlag” sits inside “Unterlagen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unterlag is recorded at frequency rank #10,761, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈlaːk]. Unterlagen is at rank #3,855, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐlaːɡn̩].
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 14616, this pair ranks #1,949,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of unterlag vs Unterlagen
Shared letters: aeglnrtu. Private to "unterlag": -. Private to "Unterlagen": -.
"unterlag" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "Unterlagen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unterlag ← nuterlag · unetrlag · unnterlag · untelrag · unteralg · unterlagg · unterlga · unterllag
- Unterlagen ← nuterlagen · unetrlagen · unnterlagen · untelragen · unteralgen · unterlaegn · unterlagenn · unterlaggen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "unterlag" for "Unterlagen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "unterlag" or "Unterlagen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "unterlag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Unterlagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,949,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unterlag" and "Unterlagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterlag vs unterzog". 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 #1,949,957 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.