üblevsUnzeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#16,070
“üble” frequency rank
#47,803
“Unze” frequency rank
63873
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature üble Unze
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs übel Gewichtseinheit von etwa 30 Gramm

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
üble
4 ch
Unze

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: üble is [ˈyːblə] while Unze is [ˈʊnt͡sə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63873, 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]. Unze is at rank #47,803, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊnt͡sə].

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 63873, this pair ranks #661,350 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of üble vs Unze

Shared letters: e. Private to "üble": blü. Private to "Unze": nuz.

"üble" · 4 letters · shape VCCV  ·  "Unze" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Unzenuze · unez · unnze · unzze · uzne

Frequency comparison

üble#16,070
Unze#47,803

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "üble" and "Unze" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "üble" is an adjective and "Unze" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "üble" or "Unze"?
"üble" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,070 in our German list, against #47,803 for "Unze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering üble vs Unze

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 “Unze”.
  • 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