finish

[ˈfɪnɪʃ]

/[ˈfɪnɪʃ]/ verb

The verdict

“finish” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #28,653 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#28,653
frequency rank, German
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs finishen

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

finish vs fish
67% similar
finish vs finnisch
75% similar
finish vs finds
67% similar

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

Key facts for finish
PropertyValue
Headwordfinish
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈfɪnɪʃ]
Letters6
Frequency rank#28,653
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “finish” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). finish lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for finish is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈfɪnɪʃ]. Corpus data places it at rank #28,653 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs finishen".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for finish, with forms such as "ffinish", "fiinsh", and "finihs". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "fish", "finnisch", "finds", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No documented word history exists for this headword, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is finish, spelled F-I-N-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs finishen

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ffinish,fiinsh,finihs,finishh,finissh,finnish,finsih,fniish,ifnish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of finish - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ffinish1fiinsh2finihs2finishh1finissh1finnish1finsih2fniish2
Edit distance from "finish"

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "finish"?
"finish" is spelled F-I-N-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈfɪnɪʃ].
What does "finish" mean?
As a verb, "finish" means: 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs finishen
What words are commonly confused with "finish"?
"finish" is commonly confused with "fish", "finnisch", "finds". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "finish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "finish" is [ˈfɪnɪʃ]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "finish" come from?
"finish" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “finish”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is F-I-N-I-S-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈfɪnɪʃ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fish” - see the side-by-side comparison. finish vs fish
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list