übrigevsübrigensWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: übrige is a adjective, übrigens is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“übrige” is an adjective and “übrigens” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,071
“übrige” frequency rank
#742
“übrigens” frequency rank
16813
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature übrige übrigens
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs übrig nebenbei bemerkt, gesagt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set übrige and übrigens apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
übrige
8 ch
übrigens

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: übrige is [ˈyːbʁɪɡə] while übrigens is [ˈyːbʁɪɡn̩s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “übrige” sits inside “übrigens”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

übrige is recorded at frequency rank #16,071, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːbʁɪɡə]. übrigens is at rank #742, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈyːbʁɪɡn̩s].

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 16813, this pair ranks #1,932,806 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of übrige vs übrigens

Shared letters: begirü. Private to "übrige": -. Private to "übrigens": ns.

"übrige" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "übrigens" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

übrige#16,071
übrigens#742

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "übrige" and "übrigens" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "übrige" is an adjective and "übrigens" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "übrige" or "übrigens"?
"übrigens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #742 in our German list, against #16,071 for "übrige". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering übrige vs übrigens

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “übrige”; for an adverb, it's “übrigens”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “übrige” 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