üblevsullaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: üble is a adjective, ulla is an unknown, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#16,070
“üble” frequency rank
#24,155
“ulla” frequency rank
40225
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature üble ulla
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs übel Nominativ Singular Femininum des Indefinitpronomens ullus

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
üble
4 ch
ulla

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: üble is anadjective and ullaanunknown. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40225, 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]. ulla is at rank #24,155, tagged as anunknown, 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 40225, this pair ranks #1,514,597 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of üble vs ulla

Shared letters: l. Private to "üble": beü. Private to "ulla": au.

"üble" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "ulla" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ullalula · ula · ulal

Frequency comparison

üble#16,070
ulla#24,155

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "üble" and "ulla" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "üble" is an adjective and "ulla" an unknown, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "üble" or "ulla"?
"üble" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,070 in our German list, against #24,155 for "ulla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering üble vs ulla

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “üble”; for an unknown, it's “ulla”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list