übrigvsüppigWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,136
“übrig” frequency rank
#23,813
“üppig” frequency rank
25949
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übrig üppig
Definition noch vorhanden, verbleibend, restlich in großer Fülle (vorhanden)

Where the eye mixes übrig and üppig

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. übrig and üppig follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
übrig
5 ch
üppig

Visual trap between übrig and üppig

A purely visual mix-up. übrig ([ˈyːbʁɪç]) and üppig ([ˈʏpɪç]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25949, 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]. üppig is at rank #23,813, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈʏpɪç].

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 25949, this pair ranks #1,825,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of übrig vs üppig

Shared letters: giü. Private to "übrig": br. Private to "üppig": p.

"übrig" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "üppig" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "übrig" and "üppig" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈyːbʁɪç] versus [ˈʏpɪç]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "übrig" vs "üppig" - which ranks higher?
"übrig" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,136 in our German list, against #23,813 for "üppig". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "übrig" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "üppig" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,825,556 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "übrig" and "üppig" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "üppig vs üppige". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,825,556 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