Which to use
“unterstehen” and “untersteht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,827
- “unterstehen” frequency rank
- #32,331
- “untersteht” frequency rank
- 65158
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | unterstehen | untersteht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | untergeben sein | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs unterstehen |
Where the eye mixes unterstehen and untersteht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. unterstehen runs 11 letters (VCCVCCCVCVC) against untersteht's 10 (VCCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses unterstehen with untersteht
A purely visual mix-up. unterstehen ([ʊntɐˈʃteːən]) and untersteht ([ˌʊntɐˈʃteːt]) 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 65158, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
unterstehen is recorded at frequency rank #32,827, classified as averb, pronounced [ʊntɐˈʃteːən]. untersteht is at rank #32,331, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈʃteːt].
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 65158, this pair ranks #616,548 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of unterstehen vs untersteht
Shared letters: ehnrstu. Private to "unterstehen": -. Private to "untersteht": -.
"unterstehen" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCVC · "untersteht" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- unterstehen ← nuterstehen · unetrstehen · unnterstehen · unterrstehen · untersethen · untersstehen · untersteehn · unterstehenn
- untersteht ← nutersteht · unetrsteht · unntersteht · unterrsteht · untersetht · unterssteht · unterstehht · unterstehtt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "unterstehen" for "untersteht" ever safe?
Which is more common, "unterstehen" or "untersteht"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "unterstehen" and "untersteht" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "unterstehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "untersteht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #616,548 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "unterstehen" and "untersteht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übersteht vs untersteht". 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 #616,548 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.