übrigensvsübrigesWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#742
“übrigens” frequency rank
#29,895
“übriges” frequency rank
30637
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes übrigens and übriges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. übrigens runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCC) against übriges's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
übrigens
7 ch
übriges

Why the eye confuses übrigens with übriges

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: übrigens is [ˈyːbʁɪɡn̩s] while übriges is [ˈyːbʁɪɡəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

übrigens is recorded at frequency rank #742, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈyːbʁɪɡn̩s]. übriges is at rank #29,895, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈyːbʁɪɡəs].

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 30637, this pair ranks #1,743,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of übrigens vs übriges

Shared letters: begirsü. Private to "übrigens": n. Private to "übriges": -.

"übrigens" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC  ·  "übriges" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "übrigens" and "übriges" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "übrigens" is an adverb and "übriges" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "übrigens" or "übriges"?
"übrigens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #742 in our German list, against #29,895 for "übriges". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "übrigens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "übriges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,743,974 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "übrigens" and "übriges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "übrige vs übriges". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,743,974 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