üblenvsUnzenConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#22,237
“üblen” frequency rank
#47,804
“Unzen” frequency rank
70041
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature üblen Unzen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs übel Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Unze

Where the eye mixes üblen and Unzen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

5 ch
üblen
5 ch
Unzen

Why the eye confuses üblen with Unzen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: üblen is [ˈyːblən] while Unzen is [ˈʊnt͡sn̩]. 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 70041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

üblen is recorded at frequency rank #22,237, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːblən]. Unzen is at rank #47,804, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʊnt͡sn̩].

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 70041, this pair ranks #458,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of üblen vs Unzen

Shared letters: en. Private to "üblen": blü. Private to "Unzen": uz.

"üblen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "Unzen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Unzennuzen · unezn · unnzen · unzenn · unzne · unzzen · uznen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "üblen" for "Unzen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "üblen" is an adjective and "Unzen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "üblen" vs "Unzen" - which ranks higher?
"üblen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,237 in our German list, against #47,804 for "Unzen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "üblen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Unzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #458,244 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "üblen" and "Unzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Unze vs Unzen". 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 #458,244 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