Which to use
“unterschreiben” is a verb and “unterschrieben” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,124
- “unterschreiben” frequency rank
- #6,867
- “unterschrieben” frequency rank
- 11991
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unterschreiben | unterschrieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ein Dokument mit der Unterschrift des eigenen Namens versehen, seinen Namen/seine Unterschrift/sein Zeichen unter ein Dokument / ein Gesetz / einen Vertrag setzen | mit einer Unterschrift versehen |
Where the eye mixes unterschreiben and unterschrieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence. unterschreiben and unterschrieben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCCCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between unterschreiben and unterschrieben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: unterschreiben is [ˌʊntɐˈʃʁaɪ̯bn̩] while unterschrieben is [ˌʊntɐˈʃʁiːbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ only by swapping two adjacent letters (ei ↔ ie) - a transposition the eye reads straight past, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11991, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unterschreiben is recorded at frequency rank #5,124, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]. 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 11991, this pair ranks #1,966,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of unterschreiben vs unterschrieben
Shared letters: bcehinrstu. Private to "unterschreiben": -. Private to "unterschrieben": -.
"unterschreiben" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCCCCVVCVC · "unterschrieben" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unterschreiben ← nuterschreiben · unetrschreiben · unnterschreiben · untercshreiben · unterrschreiben · unterscchreiben · unterscheriben · unterschhreiben
- unterschrieben ← nuterschrieben · unetrschrieben · unnterschrieben · untercshrieben · unterrschrieben · unterscchrieben · unterschhrieben · unterschireben
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "unterschreiben" and "unterschrieben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "unterschreiben" or "unterschrieben"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "unterschreiben" 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 #1,966,795 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unterschreiben" and "unterschrieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "überschreiben vs unterschreiben". 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 #1,966,795 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.