übelvsuserWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: übel is a adjective, user is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“übel” is an adjective and “user” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,225
“übel” frequency rank
#2,693
“user” frequency rank
5918
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übel user
Definition schlecht, krank, unwohl (seiend) Benutzer

Letter map: übel vs user

Shared letters muted; letters that set übel and user apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

4 ch
übel
4 ch
user

Grammar separator: übel vs user

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: übel is anadjective and useranoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5918, 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]. user is at rank #2,693, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 5918, this pair ranks #1,993,307 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of übel vs user

Shared letters: e. Private to "übel": blü. Private to "user": rsu.

"übel" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "user" · 4 letters · shape VCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • usersuer · uesr · userr · usre · usser

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "übel" and "user" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "übel" is an adjective and "user" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "übel" vs "user" - which ranks higher?
"user" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,693 in our German list, against #3,225 for "übel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "übel" vs "user" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "übel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "user" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,993,307 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "übel" and "user" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs user". 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 #1,993,307 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