und

/ʌnd/

//ʌnd// noun

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

"und" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“und” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #7,867) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#7,867
frequency rank, English
1,433
“U” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A wave.

Corpus desk

Index EN-und · und · English

und · rank #7,867 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,867
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,433
  • PHOTO-FINISH unconscious

Nearest frequency peer: unconscious (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

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 neighbours of confusable “und”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “und” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

und vs up
33% similar
und vs us
33% similar
und vs ur
33% similar

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

Key facts for und
PropertyValue
Headwordund
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʌnd/
Letters3
Frequency rank#7,867
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “und”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).undlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “unconscious” (#7,866), “varies” (#7,868), “tubes” (#7,865). Among 1,433 “U” headwords, “und” is #7,867. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for und is neighbouring look-alikes ("up", "us", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ʌnd/. Frequency #7,867 among 1,433 “U” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for und, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "up", "us", "ur", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unde (“a wave”), from either the Old French unde or Latin unda (“wave”). Doublet of water, ultimately from the same Indo-European root. The correct English form is und, spelled U-N-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A wave.
  2. 2
    A billow- or wave-like marking.
  3. 3
    Nonstandard spelling of and, usually signifying a German accent, due to "und" meaning "and" in German..

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Lute, Unds, and Sands did long our March oppose, And asp'rous Rocks, the Bulwarks of our Foes.
  2. My Noble Lord, / AFter a long inquiry about the Arms of your Lordships antient House, and the turning of sundry Books of Impresaes and Herauldry, I found your UNDES famous and very honourable. / In our neighbour Countrey of England they are born, but inversed upside down, and diversified. Torquato Tasso in his Rinaldo maketh mention of a Knight who had a…

Etymology

From Middle English unde (“a wave”), from either the Old French unde or Latin unda (“wave”). Doublet of water, ultimately from the same Indo-European root.

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "und"?
"und" is spelled U-N-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ʌnd/.
What does "und" mean?
As a noun, "und" means: A wave.
What words are commonly confused with "und"?
"und" is commonly confused with "up", "us", "ur". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "und"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "und" is /ʌnd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "und"?
From Middle English unde (“a wave”), from either the Old French unde or Latin unda (“wave”). Doublet of water, ultimately from the same Indo-European root. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "und", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

SEP#7,846SCI#7,845Lou#7,811han#7,925

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list