Which to use
“sprung” and “strung” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,036
- “sprung” frequency rank
- #19,478
- “strung” frequency rank
- 36514
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sprung | strung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of spring | simple past and past participle of string |
Where the eye mixes sprung and strung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sprung and strung
A purely visual mix-up. sprung (/spɹʌŋ/) and strung (/stɹʌŋ/) 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 - p in “sprung” becomes t in “strung”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36514, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sprung is recorded at frequency rank #17,036, classified as averb, pronounced /spɹʌŋ/. strung is at rank #19,478, tagged as averb, pronounced /stɹʌŋ/.
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 36514, this pair ranks #302,562 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sprung vs strung
Shared letters: gnrsu. Private to "sprung": p. Private to "strung": t.
"sprung" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "strung" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sprung" and "strung" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sprung" or "strung"?
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 "sprung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "strung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #302,562 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sprung" and "strung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sprung vs spunk". 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 #302,562 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.