uchvsuhWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: uch is a num, uh is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“uch” is a num and “uh” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,635
“uch” frequency rank
#11,767
“uh” frequency rank
57402
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature uch uh
Definition Kardinalzahl zwischen zwei und vier; drei Ausruf des Widerwillens, des Erschreckens

Where the eye mixes uch and uh

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
uch
2 ch
uh

Why the eye confuses uch with uh

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: uch is [ut͡ʃ] while uh is [uː]. 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 (num vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

uch is recorded at frequency rank #45,635, classified as anum, pronounced [ut͡ʃ]. uh is at rank #11,767, tagged as anintj, pronounced [uː].

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 57402, this pair ranks #902,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of uch vs uh

Shared letters: hu. Private to "uch": c. Private to "uh": -.

"uch" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "uh" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "uch" for "uh" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "uch" is a num and "uh" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "uch" or "uh" show up more?
"uh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,767 in our German list, against #45,635 for "uch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "uch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "uh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #902,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "uch" and "uh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "uch vs Uke". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #902,773 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