UrsprungvsUrsprüngeWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,125
“Ursprung” frequency rank
#25,365
“Ursprünge” frequency rank
30490
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Ursprung Ursprünge
Definition Zeitpunkt, Ort oder Material, aus dem etwas hervorgegangen ist Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Ursprung

Where the eye mixes Ursprung and Ursprünge

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Ursprung runs 8 letters (VCCCCVCC) against Ursprünge's 9 (VCCCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Ursprung
9 ch
Ursprünge

Look-alike desk: Ursprung vs Ursprünge

A purely visual mix-up. Ursprung ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌʃpʁʊŋ]) and Ursprünge ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌʃpʁʏŋə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Ursprung is recorded at frequency rank #5,125, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈuːɐ̯ˌʃpʁʊŋ]. Ursprünge is at rank #25,365, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈuːɐ̯ˌʃpʁʏŋə].

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 30490, this pair ranks #1,746,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Ursprung vs Ursprünge

Shared letters: gnprsu. Private to "Ursprung": -. Private to "Ursprünge": eü.

"Ursprung" · 8 letters · shape VCCCCVCC  ·  "Ursprünge" · 9 letters · shape VCCCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Ursprung ← rusprung · urpsrung · urrsprung · urspprung · ursprnug · ursprrung · ursprugn · ursprungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Ursprung" and "Ursprünge" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈuːɐ̯ˌʃpʁʊŋ] versus [ˈuːɐ̯ˌʃpʁʏŋə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Ursprung" or "Ursprünge" show up more?
"Ursprung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,125 in our German list, against #25,365 for "Ursprünge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Ursprung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ursprünge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,746,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Ursprung" and "Ursprünge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Ursprünge vs Ursprungs". 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 #1,746,834 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