üblevsulliWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#16,070
“üble” frequency rank
#32,322
“ulli” frequency rank
48392
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
üble
4 ch
ulli

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: üble is anadjective and ullianunknown. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48392, 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]. ulli is at rank #32,322, 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 48392, this pair ranks #1,250,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of üble vs ulli

Shared letters: l. Private to "üble": beü. Private to "ulli": iu.

"üble" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "ulli" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ulliluli · uli · ulil

Frequency comparison

üble#16,070
ulli#32,322

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "üble" and "ulli" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "üble" is an adjective and "ulli" an unknown, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "üble" or "ulli"?
"üble" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,070 in our German list, against #32,322 for "ulli". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering üble vs ulli

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 “ulli”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list