UTC

[ˌuːteːˈt͡seː]

/[ˌuːteːˈt͡seː]/ abbrev

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

The verdict

“UTC” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #21,815) as an abbreviation. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#21,815
frequency rank, German
2,159
“U” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Koordinierte Weltzeit; die Referenzzeit, von der die Ortszeiten in den verschiedenen Zeitzonen der Erde abgeleitet werden

Corpus desk

Index DE-utc · UTC · German

UTC · rank #21,815 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,815
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,159
  • PHOTO-FINISH urteilt

Nearest frequency peer: urteilt (-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 „UTC“

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

corpus weight

What this shows Balken platzieren „UTC“ 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).

UTC vs UV
33% similar
UTC vs Uwe
33% similar
UTC vs Ute
33% similar

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

Key facts for UTC
PropertyValue
HeadwordUTC
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAbbreviation
IPA[ˌuːteːˈt͡seː]
Letters3
Frequency rank#21,815
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus-Rang neben Verwechslern von „UTC“

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

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

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „urteilt“ (#21,814), „Verbandsgemeinde“ (#21,816), „uralten“ (#21,813). Unter 2,159 „U“-Lemmata liegt „UTC“ bei #21,815. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for UTC is neighbouring look-alikes ("UV", "Uwe", …), not just typos; it is anabbreviation pronounced [ˌuːteːˈt͡seː]. Frequency #21,815 among 2,159 “U” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for UTC in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "UV", "Uwe", "Ute", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is UTC, spelled U-T-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Koordinierte Weltzeit; die Referenzzeit, von der die Ortszeiten in den verschiedenen Zeitzonen der Erde abgeleitet werden
  2. 2
    Ein Komitee, das den technischen Inhalt des Unicode-Standards festlegt
  3. 3
    Eine US-amerikanische Firma
  4. 4
    Ein Endgerät eines Netzwerkes (Anwendung oder Computer), dessen Funktion rein die Anzeige von Daten ist

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. 17:30 UTC = 18:30 MEZ = 19:30 mitteleuropäischer Sommerzeit (MESZ)
  2. UTC ist die Standardzeit für die Kommunikation in der Schiff- und Luftfahrt. Auf allen Schiffen und Flugzeugen sowie den landgestützten Kontrolleinrichtungen ticken die Uhren nach dieser Zeit. Somit umgeht man alle Probleme, die verschiedene Zeitzonen und die Sommerzeit-Umstellung mit sich bringen würden.

Synonyms

Z-ZeitZulu-ZeitUTGMTGreenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Meridian Time

This word in other languages

UTC(English)UTC(Français)

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 "UTC"?
"UTC" is spelled U-T-C. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌuːteːˈt͡seː].
What does "UTC" mean?
As an abbreviation, "UTC" means: Koordinierte Weltzeit; die Referenzzeit, von der die Ortszeiten in den verschiedenen Zeitzonen der Erde abgeleitet werden
What words are commonly confused with "UTC"?
"UTC" is commonly confused with "UV", "Uwe", "Ute". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "UTC"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "UTC" is [ˌuːteːˈt͡seː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "UTC" come from?
"UTC" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 "UTC", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

SSV#21,777pic#21,730PDS#21,727cry#21,937

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list