untersagenvsunterzogenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,829
“untersagen” frequency rank
#13,505
“unterzogen” frequency rank
44334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature untersagen unterzogen
Definition ein Verbot aussprechen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs unterziehen

Where the eye mixes untersagen and unterzogen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. untersagen and unterzogen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
untersagen
10 ch
unterzogen

Look-alike desk: untersagen vs unterzogen

A purely visual mix-up. untersagen ([ˌʊntɐˈzaːɡn̩]) and unterzogen ([ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːɡn̩]) 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 44334, 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]. unterzogen is at rank #13,505, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːɡn̩].

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 44334, this pair ranks #1,389,583 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of untersagen vs unterzogen

Shared letters: egnrtu. Private to "untersagen": as. Private to "unterzogen": oz.

"untersagen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC  ·  "unterzogen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • untersagen ← nutersagen · unetrsagen · unntersagen · unterasgen · unterrsagen · untersaegn · untersagenn · untersaggen
  • unterzogen ← nuterzogen · unetrzogen · unnterzogen · unterozgen · unterrzogen · unterzgoen · unterzoegn · unterzogenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "untersagen" and "unterzogen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʊntɐˈzaːɡn̩] versus [ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "untersagen" or "unterzogen"?
"unterzogen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,505 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.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "untersagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unterzogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,389,583 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "untersagen" and "unterzogen" 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 #1,389,583 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