Which to use
“Unterschied” is a noun and “unterschieden” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,245
- “Unterschied” frequency rank
- #6,018
- “unterschieden” frequency rank
- 7263
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Unterschied | unterschieden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nicht-Übereinstimmung zweier Objekte beziehungsweise Dinge | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs unterscheiden |
Where the eye mixes Unterschied and unterschieden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Unterschied runs 11 letters (VCCVCCCCVVC) against unterschieden's 13 (VCCVCCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Unterschied with unterschieden
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Unterschied is [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːt] while unterschieden is [ˌʊntɐˈʃiːdn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “Unterschied” sits inside “unterschieden”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Unterschied is recorded at frequency rank #1,245, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊntɐˌʃiːt]. unterschieden is at rank #6,018, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈʃiːdn̩].
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 7263, this pair ranks #1,988,812 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Unterschied vs unterschieden
Shared letters: cdehinrstu. Private to "Unterschied": -. Private to "unterschieden": -.
"Unterschied" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVC · "unterschieden" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Unterschied ← nuterschied · unetrschied · unnterschied · untercshied · unterrschied · unterscchied · unterscheid · unterschhied
- unterschieden ← nuterschieden · unetrschieden · unnterschieden · untercshieden · unterrschieden · unterscchieden · unterschhieden · unterschideen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Unterschied" for "unterschieden" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Unterschied" vs "unterschieden" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Unterschied" and "unterschieden" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Unterschied" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unterschieden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,988,812 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Unterschied" and "unterschieden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unterschied vs unterschrieb". 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 #1,988,812 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.