Which to use
“unterlegen” is an adjective and “unterzogen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,309
- “unterlegen” frequency rank
- #13,505
- “unterzogen” frequency rank
- 29814
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unterlegen | unterzogen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im direkten Vergleich schlechter dastehend | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs unterziehen |
Where the eye mixes unterlegen and unterzogen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. unterlegen and unterzogen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: unterlegen vs unterzogen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unterlegen is [ˌʊntɐˈleːɡn̩] while unterzogen is [ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːɡn̩]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unterlegen is recorded at frequency rank #16,309, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈleːɡn̩]. unterzogen is at rank #13,505, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːɡn̩].
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 29814, this pair ranks #1,759,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of unterlegen vs unterzogen
Shared letters: egnrtu. Private to "unterlegen": l. Private to "unterzogen": oz.
"unterlegen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC · "unterzogen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unterlegen ← nuterlegen · unetrlegen · unnterlegen · untelregen · unterelgen · unterleegn · unterlegenn · unterleggen
- unterzogen ← nuterzogen · unetrzogen · unnterzogen · unterozgen · unterrzogen · unterzgoen · unterzoegn · unterzogenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "unterlegen" for "unterzogen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "unterlegen" vs "unterzogen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "unterlegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unterzogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,759,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unterlegen" and "unterzogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterzog vs unterzogen". 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 #1,759,777 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.