springenvsSpringerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: springen is a verb, Springer is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“springen” is a verb and “Springer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,306
“springen” frequency rank
#5,116
“Springer” frequency rank
9422
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature springen Springer
Definition hochschnellen und sich ein kurzes Stück durch die Luft bewegen Person, die (besonders im Sport) einen Sprung ausführt

Where the eye mixes springen and Springer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
springen
8 ch
Springer

Look-alike desk: springen vs Springer

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: springen is [ˈʃpʁɪŋən] while Springer is [ˈʃpʁɪŋɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “springen” becomes r in “Springer”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

springen is recorded at frequency rank #4,306, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɪŋən]. Springer is at rank #5,116, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃpʁɪŋɐ].

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 9422, this pair ranks #1,980,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of springen vs Springer

Shared letters: eginprs. Private to "springen": -. Private to "Springer": -.

"springen" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC  ·  "Springer" · 8 letters · shape CCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • springenpsringen · spirngen · sppringen · sprignen · sprinegn · springenn · springgen · springne
  • Springerpsringer · spirnger · sppringer · sprigner · sprinegr · springerr · springger · springre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "springen" for "Springer" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "springen" is a verb and "Springer" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "springen" or "Springer"?
"springen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,306 in our German list, against #5,116 for "Springer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "springen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Springer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,980,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "springen" and "Springer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Solinger vs Springer". 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 #1,980,010 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