unterzogvsunterzogenTell them apart

Which to use

“unterzog” and “unterzogen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,332
“unterzog” frequency rank
#13,505
“unterzogen” frequency rank
62837
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature unterzog unterzogen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs unterziehen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs unterziehen

Where the eye mixes unterzog and unterzogen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. unterzog runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVC) against unterzogen's 10 (VCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
unterzog
10 ch
unterzogen

Visual trap between unterzog and unterzogen

A purely visual mix-up. unterzog ([ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːk]) and unterzogen ([ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːɡn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “unterzog” sits inside “unterzogen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

unterzog is recorded at frequency rank #49,332, classified as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːk]. unterzogen is at rank #13,505, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːɡn̩].

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 62837, this pair ranks #698,407 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of unterzog vs unterzogen

Shared letters: egnortuz. Private to "unterzog": -. Private to "unterzogen": -.

"unterzog" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC  ·  "unterzogen" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • unterzog ← nuterzog · unetrzog · unnterzog · unterozg · unterrzog · unterzgo · unterzogg · unterzzog
  • unterzogen ← nuterzogen · unetrzogen · unnterzogen · unterozgen · unterrzogen · unterzgoen · unterzoegn · unterzogenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "unterzog" for "unterzogen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːk] versus [ˌʊntɐˈt͡soːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "unterzog" or "unterzogen"?
"unterzogen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,505 in our German list, against #49,332 for "unterzog". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "unterzog" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "unterzogen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #698,407 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "unterzog" and "unterzogen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Underdog vs unterzog". 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 #698,407 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list