fifth

/fɪfθ/

//fɪfθ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fifth" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fifth” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,719. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,719
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The ordinal form of the number five.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fifth · fifth · English

fifth · rank #1,719 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,719
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH eastern

Nearest frequency peer: eastern (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “fifth”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “fifth” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

fifth vs fit
60% similar
fifth vs fish
60% similar
fifth vs fits
60% similar

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

Key facts for fifth
PropertyValue
Headwordfifth
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/fɪfθ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,719
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fifth”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).fifthlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “eastern” (#1,718), “function” (#1,720), “dollars” (#1,717). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fifth” is #1,719. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around fifth (IPA /fɪfθ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,719 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The ordinal form of the number five.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for fifth, with forms such as "ffifth", "ffith", and "fiffth". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fit", "fish", "fits", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle English fifthe, fifte, fift, from Old English fīfta (“fifth”), from Proto-Germanic *fimftô (“fifth”) or *femftô, equivalent to five + -th (ordinal suffix). Cognate with Scots fift, fyft (“fifth”), North Frisian fyfde (“fifth”),… The correct English form is fifth, spelled F-I-F-T-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    The ordinal form of the number five.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how fifth appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. On Friday, at a former Michelin factory in the north-east of the city, the finishing touches were being put in place for the fifth Dundee design festival, which opens on Monday.

Etymology

PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle English fifthe, fifte, fift, from Old English fīfta (“fifth”), from Proto-Germanic *fimftô (“fifth”) or *femftô, equivalent to five + -th (ordinal suffix). Cognate with Scots fift, fyft (“fifth”), North Frisian fyfde (“fifth”), West Frisian fyfde (“fifth”), Dutch vijfde (“fifth”), Low German fifte, föfte, füfte (“fifth”), German fünfte (“fifth”), Danish femte (“fifth”), Swedish femte (“fifth”), Icelandic fimmta (“fifth”).

Synonyms

5thVthVV.

This word in other languages

quinto(Español)cinquième(Français)fünfte(Deutsch)quinto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ffifth
  • ffith
  • fiffth
  • fifht
  • fifthh
  • fiftth
  • fitfh
  • iffth

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fifth - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ffifth1ffith2fiffth1fifht2fifthh1fiftth1fitfh2iffth2
Edit distance from "fifth"

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fifth"?
"fifth" is spelled F-I-F-T-H. The IPA pronunciation is /fɪfθ/.
What does "fifth" mean?
As an adjective, "fifth" means: The ordinal form of the number five.
What words are commonly confused with "fifth"?
"fifth" is commonly confused with "fit", "fish", "fits". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fifth"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fifth" is /fɪfθ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fifth"?
PIE word *pénkʷe From Middle English fifthe, fifte, fift, from Old English fīfta (“fifth”), from Proto-Germanic *fimftô (“fifth”) or *femftô, equivalent to five + -th (ordinal suffix). Cognate with Scots fift, fyft (“fifth”), North Frisian fyfde ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fifth", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

aware#1,712items#1,726apart#1,711proud#1,735

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

movies8 variantsleaves8 variantsindeed8 variantshandle8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list