untersuchenvsuntersuchtWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: untersuchen is a verb, untersucht is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“untersuchen” is a verb and “untersucht” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,393
“untersuchen” frequency rank
#3,000
“untersucht” frequency rank
7393
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature untersuchen untersucht
Definition etwas analysieren oder erforschen, sich etwas sehr genau anschauen, um es zu verstehen analysiert oder erforscht worden; unter die Lupe genommen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set untersuchen and untersucht apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
untersuchen
10 ch
untersucht

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

untersuchen and untersucht form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7393, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

untersuchen is recorded at frequency rank #4,393, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈzuːxn̩]. untersucht is at rank #3,000, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʊntɐˈzuːxt].

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 7393, this pair ranks #1,988,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

untersuchen#4,393
untersucht#3,000

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "untersuchen" and "untersucht" be used interchangeably?
No, "untersuchen" and "untersucht" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering untersuchen vs untersucht

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “untersuchen”; for an adjective, it's “untersucht”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “untersuchen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list