Rumspringa (Pennsylvania German pronunciation: [ˈrʊmˌʃprɪŋə]), also spelled Rumschpringe or Rumshpringa (lit. 'running around', from Pennsylvania German rumschpringe 'to run around; to gad; to be wild'; compare Standard German herum-, rumspringen 'to jump around'), is a rite of passage during adolescence, used in some Amish communities. The Amish, a subsect of the Anabaptist Christian movement, intentionally segregate themselves from other communities as a part of their faith. For Amish youth, the Rumspringa normally begins at age 16 and ends when a youth chooses either to be baptized in the Amish church or to leave the community. For Wenger Mennonites, Rumspringa occurs mostly between ages of 17 and 21.

Not all Amish use this term (it does not occur in John A. Hostetler's extended discussion of adolescence among the Amish), but in sects that do, Amish elders generally view it as a time for courtship and finding a spouse. A popular view exists by which the period is institutionalized as a rite of passage, and the usual behavioral restrictions are relaxed, so that Amish youth can acquire some experience and knowledge of the non-Amish world.

Rumspringa is a Pennsylvania German noun meaning 'running around'. It is a cognate of the colloquial German verb rumspringen. Dialects do not derive from standard languages, but as a cognate, this expression is closely related to the Standard German verb herumspringen meaning 'to jump around or about'. The Standard German term is a compound word of the adverb herum (around, about) and the verb springen ('to jump'). However, in some southern German dialects, springen (schbrenga in Swabian) means 'to run'. This term/concept also is used as a separable verb, i.e., rumspringen ('to jump around') / er springt rum ('he jumps around').

In Pennsylvania German, the prefix rum is a contraction of herum – a development which is also all but general to spoken standard German. The infinitive (and gerund) form -a is standard in Pennsylvania German and other forms of general Upper German.

Amish adolescents may engage in rebellious behavior, resisting or defying parental norms. In many cultures, enforcement may be relaxed, and misbehavior tolerated or overlooked to a degree. A view of rumspringa has emerged in popular culture that this divergence from custom is an accepted part of adolescence or a rite of passage for Amish youth.

Among the Amish, however, rumspringa simply refers to adolescence. During that time a certain amount of misbehavior is unsurprising and is not severely condemned (for instance, by Meidung or shunning). Adults who have made a permanent and public commitment to the faith would be held to the higher standards of behavior defined in part by the Schleitheim and Dordrecht confessions. In a narrow sense, the young are not bound by the Ordnung because they have not taken adult membership in the church. Amish adolescents do remain, however, under the strict authority of parents who are bound to Ordnung, and there is no period when adolescents are formally released from these rules.

It is the period when a young person is considered to have reached maturity and is allowed to attend the Sunday night "singings," which are central to courtship among the Amish. According to Amish sources, a youth who attends one of these events before the age of 16 might be force-fed warm milk from a spoon, as a good-natured reminder to respect the social boundaries. Members of the local church district often attend the singings and usually bring younger children along.

A minority of Amish youth do diverge from established customs. Some may be found: