Unterbau
[ˈʊntɐˌbaʊ̯]
The verdict
“Unterbau” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #23,342 in German word frequency and used as a noun.
- #23,342
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 4
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Gründungkonstruktion eines Bauwerks
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Unterbau |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | [ˈʊntɐˌbaʊ̯] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #23,342 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 4 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Unterbau” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for Unterbau is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈʊntɐˌbaʊ̯]. Corpus data places it at rank #23,342 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for Unterbau, with forms such as "nuterbau", "unetrbau", and "unnterbau". 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 4 confusable-pair relationships, "unterlag", "Untertan", "Unterhaus", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is Unterbau, spelled U-N-T-E-R-B-A-U.
Definition
- 1Gründungkonstruktion eines Bauwerks
- 2Brückenbestandteile unterhalb des Überbaus
- 3Erd- oder Kunstbauwerke im Eisenbahnbau
- 4künstlich hergestellten Erdkörper unterhalb der Straßenbefestigung
- 5nachträglich eingebrachte Schattenbaumarten in einen Hochwaldbestand
- 6materielle und wirtschaftliche Basis im marxistischen Gesellschaftsmodell
- 7Schicht in der Architektur von Softwaresystemen
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: nuterbau,unetrbau,unnterbau,untebrau,unterabu,unterbbau,unterbua,unterrbau,untrebau,untterbau,utnerbau
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Unterbau - 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.
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 "Unterbau"?
What does "Unterbau" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "Unterbau"?
How do you pronounce "Unterbau"?
What language does "Unterbau" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “Unterbau”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is U-N-T-E-R-B-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈʊntɐˌbaʊ̯] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “unterlag” - see the side-by-side comparison. Unterbau vs unterlag
- 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.