ums

[ʊms]

/[ʊms]/ abbrev

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

The verdict

“ums” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #2,417) as an abbreviation. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#2,417
frequency rank, German
2,159
“U” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Zusammenfluss von Präposition und bestimmten Artikel (Akkusativ Neutrum): um das

Corpus desk

Index DE-ums · ums · German

ums · rank #2,417 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,417
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,159
  • PHOTO-FINISH Wohnungen

Nearest frequency peer: Wohnungen (+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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “ums”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “ums” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

ums vs us
67% similar
ums vs up
33% similar
ums vs UV
0% similar

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

Key facts for ums
PropertyValue
Headwordums
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAbbreviation
IPA[ʊms]
Letters3
Frequency rank#2,417
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ums” sits in German frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).ums lands here:

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

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

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ums is neighbouring look-alikes ("us", "up", …), not just typos; it is anabbreviation pronounced [ʊms]. Frequency #2,417 among 2,159 “U” headwords. Gloss: "Zusammenfluss von Präposition und bestimmten Artikel (Akkusativ Neutrum): um das".

No misspelling variants are generated for ums in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "us", "up", "UV", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, 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 ums, spelled U-M-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Zusammenfluss von Präposition und bestimmten Artikel (Akkusativ Neutrum): um das

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Wir sind jetzt schon zweimal ums Haus gegangen und haben nichts gefunden.
  2. Er will ums Verrecken nichts sagen.

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ums"?
"ums" is spelled U-M-S. The IPA pronunciation is [ʊms].
What does "ums" mean?
As an abbreviation, "ums" means: Zusammenfluss von Präposition und bestimmten Artikel (Akkusativ Neutrum): um das
What words are commonly confused with "ums"?
"ums" is commonly confused with "us", "up", "UV". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ums"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ums" is [ʊms]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ums" come from?
"ums" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "ums", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Mut#2,405Gas#2,445Uni#2,366tja#2,365

What to do next

You've looked up "ums". Here's where to go from here.

  • "ums" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "us". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #2,417 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "U" letter cohort. U–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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