untersagenvsuntersagtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#30,829
“untersagen” frequency rank
#8,804
“untersagt” frequency rank
39633
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature untersagen untersagt
Definition ein Verbot aussprechen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs untersagen

Where the eye mixes untersagen and untersagt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. untersagen runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVCVC) against untersagt's 9 (VCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
untersagen
9 ch
untersagt

Look-alike desk: untersagen vs untersagt

A purely visual mix-up. untersagen ([ˌʊntɐˈzaːɡn̩]) and untersagt ([ˌʊntɐˈzaːkt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39633, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

untersagen is recorded at frequency rank #30,829, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈzaːɡn̩]. untersagt is at rank #8,804, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈzaːkt].

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 39633, this pair ranks #1,531,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of untersagen vs untersagt

Shared letters: aegnrstu. Private to "untersagen": -. Private to "untersagt": -.

"untersagen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "untersagt" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • untersagen ← nutersagen · unetrsagen · unntersagen · unterasgen · unterrsagen · untersaegn · untersagenn · untersaggen
  • untersagt ← nutersagt · unetrsagt · unntersagt · unterasgt · unterrsagt · untersaggt · untersagtt · untersatg

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "untersagen" for "untersagt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʊntɐˈzaːɡn̩] versus [ˌʊntɐˈzaːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "untersagen" or "untersagt" show up more?
"untersagt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,804 in our German list, against #30,829 for "untersagen". 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 "untersagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "untersagt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,531,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "untersagen" and "untersagt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "untersagen vs untersagte". 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 #1,531,290 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