sprang

[ʃpʁaŋ]

/[ʃpʁaŋ]/ verb

The verdict

“sprang” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #7,532 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#7,532
frequency rank, German
6
letters
10
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs springen

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

sprang vs Spray
50% similar
sprang vs Strand
50% similar
sprang vs streng
67% similar

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

Key facts for sprang
PropertyValue
Headwordsprang
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ʃpʁaŋ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#7,532
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “sprang” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). sprang lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for sprang is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ʃpʁaŋ]. Corpus data places it at rank #7,532 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for sprang, with forms such as "psrang", "sparng", and "spprang". 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, "Spray", "Strand", "streng", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is sprang, spelled S-P-R-A-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs springen
  2. 2
    3. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs springen

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: psrang,sparng,spprang,spragn,sprangg,spranng,sprnag,sprrang,srpang,ssprang

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sprang - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

psrang2sparng2spprang1spragn2sprangg1spranng1sprnag2sprrang1
Edit distance from "sprang"

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 "sprang"?
"sprang" is spelled S-P-R-A-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is [ʃpʁaŋ].
What does "sprang" mean?
As a verb, "sprang" means: 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs springen
What words are commonly confused with "sprang"?
"sprang" is commonly confused with "Spray", "Strand", "streng". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sprang"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sprang" is [ʃpʁaŋ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "sprang" come from?
"sprang" 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.

Using “sprang”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is S-P-R-A-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ʃpʁaŋ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Spray” - see the side-by-side comparison. sprang vs Spray
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list