-ung

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ung"

German

Etymology

From Middle High German -ung, -unge, from Old High German -unga, from Proto-West Germanic *-ungu, from Proto-Germanic *-ungō. More at English -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʊŋ/

• Audio

  (file)

Suffix

-ung f (genitive -ung, plural -ungen)

1. -ing; forms nouns from verbs, usually describing either an event in which an action is carried out, or the result of that action.

   ‎rechnen (“to reckon”) + ‎-ung → ‎die Rechnung (“the reckoning, the bill”)

   ‎entdecken (“to discover”) + ‎-ung → ‎die Entdeckung (“the discovery”)

   ‎erinnern (“to remind”) + ‎-ung → ‎die Erinnerung (“the reminder, the remembrance, the memory”)

Usage notes

• Note that the -ung suffixed form is different from the gerund which is formed by simply capitalizing the first letter of the verb. The gerund usually refers to the activity in general rather than a specific instance or result. Examples:

  Zeigen Sie mir die Rechnung.

  Show me the bill.

  Rechnen wird in der Schule gelehrt.

  Arithmetic is taught in school.

  Wichtig war die Entdeckung der Radioaktivität.

  The discovery of radioactivity was important.

  Die Wissenschaft schreitet durch Entdecken voran.

  Science progresses by discovery.

  Meine Erinnerung an das Ereignis ist eher vage.

  My memory of the event is rather vague.

  Emotionen machen den Unterschied zwischen Erinnern und Vergessen aus.

  Emotions make the difference between remembering and forgetting.

Declension

Declension of -ung [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	-ung	die	-ungen
genitive	einer	der	-ung	der	-ungen
dative	einer	der	-ung	den	-ungen
accusative	eine	die	-ung	die	-ungen

Derived terms

German terms suffixed with -ung

Luxembourgish

Alternative forms

• -ong (dated)

Etymology

From Old High German -unga, from Proto-Germanic *-ungō. Cognate with German -ung, English -ing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /uŋ/

Suffix

-ung

1. used to form nouns from verbs

Derived terms

Luxembourgish terms suffixed with -ung

Middle English

Suffix

-ung

1. Alternative form of -ing

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *-ungu, from Proto-Germanic *-ungō.

Cognate with Old Saxon -unga (Low German -inge, -ing), Old Dutch -inga, -unga (Dutch -ing), Old High German -unga (German -ung), Old Norse -ung, -ing (Swedish -ing).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /unɡ/, [uŋɡ]

Suffix

-ung

1. forming nouns from verbs, denoting verbal action or an instance of it; or denoting a substance involved in the verbal action

Usage notes

• In general, -ung is used with class II weak verbs, -ing with all other verbs.

Declension

Declension of -ung (strong ō-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	-ung	-unga, -unge
accusative	-unge	-unga, -unge
genitive	-unge	-unga
dative	-unge	-ungum

Derived terms

Old English terms suffixed with -ung

Descendants

• Middle English: -ung, -unge, -unge, -inge, -ing
  • English: -ing