unterrichtenvsUnterrichtungTell them apart

Quick tell: unterrichten is a verb, Unterrichtung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“unterrichten” is a verb and “Unterrichtung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,471
“unterrichten” frequency rank
#47,799
“Unterrichtung” frequency rank
56270
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterrichten Unterrichtung
Definition jemandem etwas beibringen das Informieren/die Benachrichtigung von jemandem über einen Sachverhalt

Where the eye mixes unterrichten and Unterrichtung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. unterrichten runs 12 letters (VCCVCCVCCCVC) against Unterrichtung's 13 (VCCVCCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
unterrichten
13 ch
Unterrichtung

Look-alike desk: unterrichten vs Unterrichtung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unterrichten is [ˌʊntɐˈʁɪçtn̩] while Unterrichtung is [ʊntɐˈʁɪçtʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56270, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterrichten is recorded at frequency rank #8,471, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈʁɪçtn̩]. Unterrichtung is at rank #47,799, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʊntɐˈʁɪçtʊŋ].

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 56270, this pair ranks #946,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unterrichten vs Unterrichtung

Shared letters: cehinrtu. Private to "unterrichten": -. Private to "Unterrichtung": g.

"unterrichten" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVC  ·  "Unterrichtung" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterrichtennuterrichten · unetrrichten · unnterrichten · unterichten · unterirchten · unterrcihten · unterricchten · unterrichetn
  • Unterrichtungnuterrichtung · unetrrichtung · unnterrichtung · unterichtung · unterirchtung · unterrcihtung · unterricchtung · unterrichhtung

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "unterrichten" and "Unterrichtung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "unterrichten" is a verb and "Unterrichtung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "unterrichten" or "Unterrichtung" show up more?
"unterrichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,471 in our German list, against #47,799 for "Unterrichtung". 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 "unterrichten" and "Unterrichtung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "unterrichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Unterrichtung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #946,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unterrichten" and "Unterrichtung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterrichte vs unterrichten". 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 #946,757 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