UnterlagevsuntersagenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Unterlage is a noun, untersagen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Unterlage” is a noun and “untersagen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,384
“Unterlage” frequency rank
#30,829
“untersagen” frequency rank
60213
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Unterlage untersagen
Definition unter etwas liegender Gegenstand oder Schicht (Schichte) als Schutz, Stärkung oder Höhenausgleich ein Verbot aussprechen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Unterlage and untersagen apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
Unterlage
10 ch
untersagen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Unterlage and untersagen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Unterlage is recorded at frequency rank #29,384, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌlaːɡə]. untersagen is at rank #30,829, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈzaːɡn̩].

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 60213, this pair ranks #795,444 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

Unterlage#29,384
untersagen#30,829

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Unterlage" and "untersagen" be used interchangeably?
No, "Unterlage" and "untersagen" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering Unterlage vs untersagen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Unterlage”; for a verb, it's “untersagen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Unterlage” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list