unternahmvsUnterzahlTell them apart

Quick tell: unternahm is a unknown, Unterzahl is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“unternahm” is an unknown and “Unterzahl” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,026
“unternahm” frequency rank
#27,108
“Unterzahl” frequency rank
43134
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unternahm Unterzahl
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv von unternehmen die kleiner Menge im Vergleich zu einer anderen

Where the eye mixes unternahm and Unterzahl

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. unternahm and Unterzahl follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
unternahm
9 ch
Unterzahl

Visual trap between unternahm and Unterzahl

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unternahm is [ˌʊntɐˈnaːm] while Unterzahl is [ˈʊntɐˌt͡saːl]. 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 (unknown vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43134, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unternahm is recorded at frequency rank #16,026, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈnaːm]. Unterzahl is at rank #27,108, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌt͡saːl].

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 43134, this pair ranks #1,427,582 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unternahm vs Unterzahl

Shared letters: aehnrtu. Private to "unternahm": m. Private to "Unterzahl": lz.

"unternahm" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC  ·  "Unterzahl" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unternahm ← nuternahm · unetrnahm · unnternahm · untenrahm · unteranhm · unternahhm · unternahmm · unternamh
  • Unterzahl ← nuterzahl · unetrzahl · unnterzahl · unterazhl · unterrzahl · unterzahhl · unterzahll · unterzalh

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unternahm" and "Unterzahl" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "unternahm" is an unknown and "Unterzahl" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "unternahm" or "Unterzahl"?
"unternahm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,026 in our German list, against #27,108 for "Unterzahl". 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 "unternahm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Unterzahl" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,427,582 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unternahm" and "Unterzahl" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Überzahl vs Unterzahl". 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 #1,427,582 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