üble vs Uke, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#16,070
“üble” frequency rank: #44,987
“Uke” frequency rank: 61057
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	üble	Uke
Definition	Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs übel	im Judo die Person, die geworfen wird beziehungsweise an der die Technik ausgeführt wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set üble and Uke apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

üble

3 ch

Uke

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: üble is anadjective and Ukeanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

üble is recorded at frequency rank #16,070, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːblə]. Uke is at rank #44,987, 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 61057, this pair ranks #763,878 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of üble vs Uke

Shared letters: e. Private to "üble": blü. Private to "Uke": ku.

"üble" · 4 letters · shape VCCV · "Uke" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequency comparison

üble#16,070

Uke#44,987

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "üble" and "Uke" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "üble" is an adjective and "Uke" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "üble" or "Uke"?

"üble" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,070 in our German list, against #44,987 for "Uke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering üble vs Uke

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “üble”; for a noun, it's “Uke”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “üble” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable