übel

[ˈyːbl̩]

/[ˈyːbl̩]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“übel” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #3,225) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#3,225
frequency rank, German
443
“Ü” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - schlecht, krank, unwohl (seiend)

Corpus desk

Index DE-ubel · übel · German

übel · rank #3,225 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,225
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 443
  • PHOTO-FINISH wirtschaftlic…

Nearest frequency peer: wirtschaftlichen (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Häufigkeitsnachbarn des Verwechslers „übel“

Peers mit ähnlichem Corpus-Gewicht, getrennt von den Verwechslungspaaren unten

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „übel“ gegen die nächsten gerankten deutschen Lemmata, kein Reprint der Verwechslungsdesk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

übel vs UE
0% similar
übel vs Uwe
25% similar
übel vs URL
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for übel
PropertyValue
Headwordübel
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˈyːbl̩]
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,225
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „übel“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.übelliegt auf dieser Marke:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „wirtschaftlichen“ (#3,224), „Absatz“ (#3,226), „wirtschaftliche“ (#3,223). Unter 443 „Ü“-Lemmata liegt „übel“ bei #3,225. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for übel is neighbouring look-alikes ("UE", "Uwe", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced [ˈyːbl̩]. Frequency #3,225 among 443 “Ü” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for übel, with forms such as "büel", "übbel", and "übell". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "UE", "Uwe", "URL", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is übel, spelled Ü-B-E-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    schlecht, krank, unwohl (seiend)
  2. 2
    schlecht, verdorben, faulig, unangenehm
  3. 3
    unmoralisch, schlecht, verwerflich, verdorben
  4. 4
    unangenehm, unerfreulich

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how übel appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „Ist dir übel?“
  2. Sein übler Weisheitszahn machte ihm schwer zu schaffen und der Zahnarztbesuch war unvermeidlich.

Antonyms

gesundgutfrischtugendhaftangenehm

This word in other languages

bad(English)enfermo(Español)mal(Français)desagradável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • büel
  • übbel
  • übell
  • üebl

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of übel - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

büel2übbel1übell1üebl2
Edit distance from "übel"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "übel"?
"übel" is spelled Ü-B-E-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈyːbl̩].
What does "übel" mean?
As an adjective, "übel" means: schlecht, krank, unwohl (seiend)
What words are commonly confused with "übel"?
"übel" is commonly confused with "UE", "Uwe", "URL". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "übel"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "übel" is [ˈyːbl̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "übel" come from?
"übel" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "übel", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

play#3,206from#3,249Müll#3,200Haar#3,256

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list