Which to use
“sprang” and “spring” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,532
- “sprang” frequency rank
- #10,369
- “spring” frequency rank
- 17901
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sprang | spring |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs springen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs springen |
Where the eye mixes sprang and spring
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sprang with spring
A purely visual mix-up. sprang ([ʃpʁaŋ]) and spring ([ʃpʁɪŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - a in “sprang” becomes i in “spring”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sprang is recorded at frequency rank #7,532, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃpʁaŋ]. spring is at rank #10,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʃpʁɪŋ].
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 17901, this pair ranks #1,923,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sprang vs spring
Shared letters: gnprs. Private to "sprang": a. Private to "spring": i.
"sprang" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "spring" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sprang" for "spring" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sprang" or "spring"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sprang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spring" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,923,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sprang" and "spring" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sporting vs spring". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,923,224 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.