Which to use
“fish” and “fishes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,339
- “fish” frequency rank
- #16,710
- “fishes” frequency rank
- 18049
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fish | fishes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A typically cold-blooded vertebrate animal that lives in water, moving with the help of fins and breathing with gills. | plural of fish |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fish and fishes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. fish (/ˈfɪʃ/) and fishes (/ˈfɪʃɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fish” sits inside “fishes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18049, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fish is recorded at frequency rank #1,339, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɪʃ/. fishes is at rank #16,710, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɪʃɪz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 18049, this pair ranks #447,455 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fish vs fishes
Shared letters: fhis. Private to "fish": -. Private to "fishes": e.
"fish" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "fishes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fish" and "fishes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fish" or "fishes"?
Remembering fish vs fishes
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fish” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable