Which to use
“Unterlage” is a noun and “untersagt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,384
- “Unterlage” frequency rank
- #8,804
- “untersagt” frequency rank
- 38188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Unterlage | untersagt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unter etwas liegender Gegenstand oder Schicht (Schichte) als Schutz, Stärkung oder Höhenausgleich | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs untersagen |
Where the eye mixes Unterlage and untersagt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Unterlage (VCCVCCVCV) and untersagt (VCCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Unterlage vs untersagt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Unterlage is [ˈʊntɐˌlaːɡə] while untersagt is [ˌʊntɐˈzaːkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38188, 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]. untersagt is at rank #8,804, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈzaːkt].
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 38188, this pair ranks #1,570,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Unterlage vs untersagt
Shared letters: aegnrtu. Private to "Unterlage": l. Private to "untersagt": s.
"Unterlage" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "untersagt" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Unterlage" and "untersagt" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Unterlage" or "untersagt" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Unterlage" and "untersagt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Unterlage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "untersagt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,570,553 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Unterlage" and "untersagt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unterlage 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 #1,570,553 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.