unter

See also: Unter and unter-

German

Etymology

From Middle High German under, unter, from Old High German untar, from Proto-Germanic *under (compare Old Saxon undar, Hunsrik unne, Dutch onder, English under).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʊntɐ/

• audio (Germany)

  (file)

• audio (Austria)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊntɐ

Preposition

unter

1. under
2. below
3. among, between
   • 1919, Walther Kabel, Irrende Seelen, Werner Dietsch Verlag, page 108:

     Unsere Unterredung wurde jetzt im leichten Plauderton geführt wie ein harmloses Gespräch unter guten Bekannten.

     Our discussion was now held in a light conversational tone like a harmless chat between friendly acquaintances.

4. (chiefly literary) with; along with; accompanied by an action (often concessive)

   Die englische Sprache überlebte die normannische Eroberung unter weitgehendem Verlust ihrer ursprünglichen Struktur.

   The English language survived the Norman conquest, largely losing, however, its original structure.

5. (rare or regional) during

Usage notes

• The preposition is used with accusative case if the verb indicates movement from one place to another, but is used with dative case if the verb indicates location.
• The sense “during” is chiefly restricted to a few expressions, such as unter der Woche (“during the week, on weekdays”), in standard usage. In southern German speech it is used more freely.
• With a definite article, the following contractions may occur: unterm (= unter dem), untern (= unter den), and unters (= unter das). These are non-obligatory contractions.

Antonyms

• über

See also

• unten
• unterer

Further reading

• “unter” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache