UnternehmenvsUnternehmensTell them apart

Which to use

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

#372
“Unternehmen” frequency rank
#3,086
“Unternehmens” frequency rank
3458
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Unternehmen Unternehmens
Definition Gesellschaft, die in Produktion oder Handel tätig ist oder Dienstleistungen erbringt Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Unternehmen

Where the eye mixes Unternehmen and Unternehmens

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Unternehmen runs 11 letters (VCCVCCVCCVC) against Unternehmens's 12 (VCCVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Unternehmen
12 ch
Unternehmens

Look-alike desk: Unternehmen vs Unternehmens

A purely visual mix-up. Unternehmen ([ʊntɐˈneːmən]) and Unternehmens ([ˌʊntɐˈneːməns]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Unternehmen” sits inside “Unternehmens”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3458, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Unternehmen is recorded at frequency rank #372, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʊntɐˈneːmən]. Unternehmens is at rank #3,086, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈneːməns].

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 3458, this pair ranks #2,000,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Unternehmen vs Unternehmens

Shared letters: ehmnrtu. Private to "Unternehmen": -. Private to "Unternehmens": s.

"Unternehmen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVC  ·  "Unternehmens" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Unternehmen ← nuternehmen · unetrnehmen · unnternehmen · untenrehmen · unterenhmen · unternehemn · unternehhmen · unternehmenn
  • Unternehmens ← nuternehmens · unetrnehmens · unnternehmens · untenrehmens · unterenhmens · unternehemns · unternehhmens · unternehmenns

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Unternehmen" for "Unternehmens" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ʊntɐˈneːmən] versus [ˌʊntɐˈneːməns]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Unternehmen" vs "Unternehmens" - which ranks higher?
"Unternehmen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #372 in our German list, against #3,086 for "Unternehmens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Unternehmen" and "Unternehmens" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Unternehmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Unternehmens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,000,176 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Unternehmen" and "Unternehmens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unternehmen vs Unternehmerin". 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 #2,000,176 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