unternvsuntersWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,474
“untern” frequency rank
#16,027
“unters” frequency rank
54501
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature untern unters
Definition unter den unter das

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set untern and unters apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
untern
6 ch
unters

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. untern ([ˈʊntɐn]) and unters ([ˈʊntɐs]) 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 a single letter - n in “untern” becomes s in “unters”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

untern is recorded at frequency rank #38,474, classified as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈʊntɐn]. unters is at rank #16,027, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [ˈʊntɐs].

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 54501, this pair ranks #1,016,398 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of untern vs unters

Shared letters: enrtu. Private to "untern": -. Private to "unters": s.

"untern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC  ·  "unters" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unternnutern · unetrn · unntern · untenr · unternn · unterrn · untren · unttern
  • untersnuters · unetrs · unnters · unterrs · unterss · untesr · untres · untters

Frequency comparison

untern#38,474
unters#16,027

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "untern" and "unters" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʊntɐn] versus [ˈʊntɐs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "untern" or "unters"?
"unters" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,027 in our German list, against #38,474 for "untern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering untern vs unters

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “untern” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list