under

[ˈʌndə]

/[ˈʌndə]/ adv

The verdict

“under” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #11,769 in German word frequency and used as an adverb.

#11,769
frequency rank, German
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - darunter, hinunter, unten

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

under vs une
60% similar
under vs user
60% similar
under vs Unze
40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for under
PropertyValue
Headwordunder
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdverb
IPA[ˈʌndə]
Letters5
Frequency rank#11,769
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “under” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). under lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for under is 5 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʌndə]. Corpus data places it at rank #11,769 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "darunter, hinunter, unten".

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for under, with forms such as "nuder", "udner", and "undder". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "une", "user", "Unze", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is under, spelled U-N-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    darunter, hinunter, unten

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: nuder,udner,undder,underr,undre,unedr,unnder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of under - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

nuder2udner2undder1underr1undre2unedr2unnder1
Edit distance from "under"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "under"?
"under" is spelled U-N-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈʌndə].
What does "under" mean?
As an adverb, "under" means: darunter, hinunter, unten
What words are commonly confused with "under"?
"under" is commonly confused with "une", "user", "Unze". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "under"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "under" is [ˈʌndə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "under" come from?
"under" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “under”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is U-N-D-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈʌndə] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “une” - see the side-by-side comparison. under vs une
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

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