übrigvsübrigenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“übrig” and “übrigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,136
“übrig” frequency rank
#2,186
“übrigen” frequency rank
4322
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übrig übrigen
Definition noch vorhanden, verbleibend, restlich Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs übrig

Where the eye mixes übrig and übrigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. übrig runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against übrigen's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
übrig
7 ch
übrigen

Look-alike desk: übrig vs übrigen

A purely visual mix-up. übrig ([ˈyːbʁɪç]) and übrigen ([ˈyːbʁɪɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “übrig” sits inside “übrigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4322, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

übrig is recorded at frequency rank #2,136, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːbʁɪç]. übrigen is at rank #2,186, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːbʁɪɡn̩].

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 4322, this pair ranks #1,998,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of übrig vs übrigen

Shared letters: bgirü. Private to "übrig": -. Private to "übrigen": en.

"übrig" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "übrigen" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "übrig" for "übrigen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈyːbʁɪç] versus [ˈyːbʁɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "übrig" or "übrigen" show up more?
"übrig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,136 in our German list, against #2,186 for "übrigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "übrig" and "übrigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "übrig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "übrigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,998,017 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "übrig" and "übrigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übrig vs UrhG". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,998,017 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