uchvsUhrWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: uch is a num, Uhr is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#45,635
“uch” frequency rank
#200
“Uhr” frequency rank
45835
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature uch Uhr
Definition Kardinalzahl zwischen zwei und vier; drei Instrument zur Messung der Zeit, Chronometer

Where the eye mixes uch and Uhr

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

3 ch
uch
3 ch
Uhr

Visual trap between uch and Uhr

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: uch is [ut͡ʃ] while Uhr is [uːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45835, 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]. Uhr is at rank #200, tagged as anoun, pronounced [uːɐ̯].

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 45835, this pair ranks #1,339,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of uch vs Uhr

Shared letters: hu. Private to "uch": c. Private to "Uhr": r.

"uch" · 3 letters · shape VCC  ·  "Uhr" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "uch" and "Uhr" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "uch" is a num and "Uhr" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "uch" or "Uhr"?
"Uhr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #200 in our German list, against #45,635 for "uch". 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 "uch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Uhr" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,339,658 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "uch" and "Uhr" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "uch vs Uke". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,339,658 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