UnternehmensvsUnternehmungConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,086
“Unternehmens” frequency rank
#23,344
“Unternehmung” frequency rank
26430
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Unternehmens Unternehmung
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Unternehmen Tätigkeit, die ein bestimmtes Ziel hat

Where the eye mixes Unternehmens and Unternehmung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. Unternehmens and Unternehmung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

12 ch
Unternehmens
12 ch
Unternehmung

Look-alike desk: Unternehmens vs Unternehmung

A purely visual mix-up. Unternehmens ([ˌʊntɐˈneːməns]) and Unternehmung ([ˌʊntɐˈneːmʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Unternehmens is recorded at frequency rank #3,086, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈneːməns]. Unternehmung is at rank #23,344, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈneːmʊŋ].

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 26430, this pair ranks #1,818,227 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Unternehmens vs Unternehmung

Shared letters: ehmnrtu. Private to "Unternehmens": s. Private to "Unternehmung": g.

"Unternehmens" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Unternehmung" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Unternehmens ← nuternehmens · unetrnehmens · unnternehmens · untenrehmens · unterenhmens · unternehemns · unternehhmens · unternehmenns
  • Unternehmung ← nuternehmung · unetrnehmung · unnternehmung · untenrehmung · unterenhmung · unternehhmung · unternehmmung · unternehmnug

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Unternehmens" and "Unternehmung" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʊntɐˈneːməns] versus [ˌʊntɐˈneːmʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Unternehmens" or "Unternehmung"?
"Unternehmens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,086 in our German list, against #23,344 for "Unternehmung". 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 "Unternehmens" and "Unternehmung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Unternehmens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Unternehmung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,818,227 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Unternehmens" and "Unternehmung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unternehmung vs Unternehmungen". 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 #1,818,227 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