Which to use
“unterschieden” is a verb and “unterschrieben” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,018
- “unterschieden” frequency rank
- #6,867
- “unterschrieben” frequency rank
- 12885
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unterschieden | unterschrieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs unterscheiden | mit einer Unterschrift versehen |
Where the eye mixes unterschieden and unterschrieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. unterschieden runs 13 letters (VCCVCCCCVVCVC) against unterschrieben's 14 (VCCVCCCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: unterschieden vs unterschrieben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unterschieden is [ˌʊntɐˈʃiːdn̩] while unterschrieben is [ˌʊntɐˈʃʁiːbn̩]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unterschieden is recorded at frequency rank #6,018, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈʃiːdn̩]. unterschrieben is at rank #6,867, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈʃʁiːbn̩].
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 12885, this pair ranks #1,961,428 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of unterschieden vs unterschrieben
Shared letters: cehinrstu. Private to "unterschieden": d. Private to "unterschrieben": b.
"unterschieden" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCCCVVCVC · "unterschrieben" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unterschieden ← nuterschieden · unetrschieden · unnterschieden · untercshieden · unterrschieden · unterscchieden · unterschhieden · unterschideen
- unterschrieben ← nuterschrieben · unetrschrieben · unnterschrieben · untercshrieben · unterrschrieben · unterscchrieben · unterschhrieben · unterschireben
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unterschieden" and "unterschrieben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "unterschieden" or "unterschrieben" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "unterschieden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "unterschrieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,961,428 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unterschieden" and "unterschrieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "unterschrieben vs unterschritten". 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 #1,961,428 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.