Which to use
“übel” is an adjective and “une” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,225
- “übel” frequency rank
- #14,961
- “une” frequency rank
- 18186
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | übel | une |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schlecht, krank, unwohl (seiend) | Singular Femininum des französischen unbestimmten Artikels un |
Where the eye mixes übel and une
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between übel and une
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: übel is [ˈyːbl̩] while une is [yn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs unknown), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
übel is recorded at frequency rank #3,225, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːbl̩]. une is at rank #14,961, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [yn].
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 18186, this pair ranks #1,920,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of übel vs une
Shared letters: e. Private to "übel": blü. Private to "une": nu.
"übel" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "une" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "übel" for "une" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "übel" or "une" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "übel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "une" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,920,613 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "übel" and "une" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "une vs Unzen". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,920,613 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.