UhuvsUkeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Uhu” and “Uke” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#38,464
“Uhu” frequency rank
#44,987
“Uke” frequency rank
83451
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Uhu Uke
Definition größte, in der Dämmerung jagende Eule, speziell der Eurasische Uhu , mit auffälligen Federohren, orangeroten Augen und dunkelbraun geflecktem Gefieder, die in waldigen Vorgebirgen lebt im Judo die Person, die geworfen wird beziehungsweise an der die Technik ausgeführt wird

Letter map: Uhu vs Uke

Shared letters muted; letters that set Uhu and Uke apart highlighted. Shared run: 1. Uhu and Uke follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
Uhu
3 ch
Uke

Corpus notes: Uhu and Uke

Uhu and Uke are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Uhu is recorded at frequency rank #38,464, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈuːhu]. Uke is at rank #44,987, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 83451, this pair ranks #139,719 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Uhu vs Uke

Shared letters: u. Private to "Uhu": h. Private to "Uke": ek.

"Uhu" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "Uke" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Uhu" and "Uke" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
In ordinary German text, does "Uhu" or "Uke" show up more?
"Uhu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,464 in our German list, against #44,987 for "Uke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

You've compared "Uhu" and "Uke". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Uhu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Uke" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #139,719 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Uhu" and "Uke" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "puzzles vs Uke". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #139,719 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