UnterlagenvsunterlassenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,855
“Unterlagen” frequency rank
#13,503
“unterlassen” frequency rank
17358
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Unterlagen unterlassen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Unterlage (meist bewusst) etwas nicht tun (oder nicht mehr tun)

Where the eye mixes Unterlagen and unterlassen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Unterlagen runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVCVC) against unterlassen's 11 (VCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Unterlagen
11 ch
unterlassen

Look-alike desk: Unterlagen vs unterlassen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Unterlagen is [ˈʊntɐlaːɡn̩] while unterlassen is [ˌʊntɐˈlasn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Unterlagen is recorded at frequency rank #3,855, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐlaːɡn̩]. unterlassen is at rank #13,503, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈlasn̩].

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 17358, this pair ranks #1,928,083 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Unterlagen vs unterlassen

Shared letters: aelnrtu. Private to "Unterlagen": g. Private to "unterlassen": s.

"Unterlagen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "unterlassen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Unterlagen ← nuterlagen · unetrlagen · unnterlagen · untelragen · unteralgen · unterlaegn · unterlagenn · unterlaggen
  • unterlassen ← nuterlassen · unetrlassen · unnterlassen · untelrassen · unteralssen · unterlasen · unterlasesn · unterlassenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Unterlagen" and "unterlassen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Unterlagen" is a noun and "unterlassen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Unterlagen" vs "unterlassen" - which ranks higher?
"Unterlagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,855 in our German list, against #13,503 for "unterlassen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Unterlagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unterlassen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,928,083 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Unterlagen" and "unterlassen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unterlagen vs unterlegene". 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 #1,928,083 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