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 eye mixes übrige and übrigens
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. übrige runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against übrigens's 8 (VCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: übrige vs übrigens
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "übrige" for "übrigens" ever safe?
Which is more common, "übrige" or "übrigens"?
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 "übrige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "übrigens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,932,806 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "übrige" and "übrigens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übrige vs üppige". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,932,806 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.