Which to use
“unterlegene” is an adjective and “unterliegen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,358
- “unterlegene” frequency rank
- #8,300
- “unterliegen” frequency rank
- 54658
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unterlegene | unterliegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs unterlegen | besiegt werden |
Where the eye mixes unterlegene and unterliegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. unterlegene (VCCVCCVCVCV) and unterliegen (VCCVCCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: unterlegene vs unterliegen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unterlegene is [ˌʊntɐˈleːɡənə] while unterliegen is [ˌʊntɐˈliːɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 5 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 54658, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unterlegene is recorded at frequency rank #46,358, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈleːɡənə]. unterliegen is at rank #8,300, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈliːɡn̩].
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 54658, this pair ranks #1,010,212 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of unterlegene vs unterliegen
Shared letters: eglnrtu. Private to "unterlegene": -. Private to "unterliegen": i.
"unterlegene" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCV · "unterliegen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unterlegene ← nuterlegene · unetrlegene · unnterlegene · untelregene · unterelgene · unterleegne · unterlegeen · unterleggene
- unterliegen ← nuterliegen · unetrliegen · unnterliegen · untelriegen · unterilegen · unterleigen · unterlieegn · unterliegenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unterlegene" and "unterliegen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "unterlegene" vs "unterliegen" - 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 "unterlegene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unterliegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,010,212 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unterlegene" and "unterliegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterlegene vs unterlegenen". 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 #1,010,212 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.