unterliegenvsunterliegtConfusable pair

Which to use

“unterliegen” and “unterliegt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,300
“unterliegen” frequency rank
#8,470
“unterliegt” frequency rank
16770
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterliegen unterliegt
Definition besiegt werden 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs unterliegen

Where the eye mixes unterliegen and unterliegt

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

11 ch
unterliegen
10 ch
unterliegt

Look-alike desk: unterliegen vs unterliegt

A purely visual mix-up. unterliegen ([ˌʊntɐˈliːɡn̩]) and unterliegt ([ˌʊntɐˈliːkt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterliegen is recorded at frequency rank #8,300, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈliːɡn̩]. unterliegt is at rank #8,470, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈliːkt].

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 16770, this pair ranks #1,933,106 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of unterliegen vs unterliegt

Shared letters: egilnrtu. Private to "unterliegen": -. Private to "unterliegt": -.

"unterliegen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCVC  ·  "unterliegt" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterliegen ← nuterliegen · unetrliegen · unnterliegen · untelriegen · unterilegen · unterleigen · unterlieegn · unterliegenn
  • unterliegt ← nuterliegt · unetrliegt · unnterliegt · untelriegt · unterilegt · unterleigt · unterlieggt · unterliegtt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unterliegen" and "unterliegt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʊntɐˈliːɡn̩] versus [ˌʊntɐˈliːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unterliegen" or "unterliegt"?
"unterliegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,300 in our German list, against #8,470 for "unterliegt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "unterliegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unterliegt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,933,106 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unterliegen" and "unterliegt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterlegene vs unterliegen". 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 #1,933,106 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