ung

Ung is a German suffix used to form feminine nouns from verbs, indicating action, process, or result. It is highly productive in Modern German and appears in many common words such as Bewegung (movement), Bildung (formation or education), Beachtung (attention), and Veränderung (change).

Grammatical properties: Nouns formed with -ung are almost always feminine (die Bewegung, die Bildung). The plural is typically formed by adding -en, as in Bewegungen, Veränderungen, Entscheidungen. The suffix generally marks abstract nouns or processes rather than concrete agents, though there are exceptions where the noun’s meaning is more specific.

Usage and morphology: -ung is widely used across formal and everyday language, especially in compounds and nominalized verb phrases. It attaches to verb stems to yield nouns that express the activity, result, or state associated with the verb. Many -ung nouns are highly productive, but some occurrences are less transparent and may derive from adjectives or non-verb bases.

Etymology and cross-language notes: The suffix originates in Old High German and Proto-Germanic and is a common nominalizing element in West Germanic languages. Related forms occur in other languages; for example Dutch uses analogous nominalizers such as -ing, while Swedish has -ning. English uses a related but distinct historical path for the -ing form, which serves a different set of functions.

In summary, -ung is a central German suffix for creating feminine abstract nouns from verbs, capturing action, process, or result within the language’s nominal system.