fishy

Name: fishy, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈfɪʃi/

//ˈfɪʃi// adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“fishy” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,116. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,116
frequency rank, English: 2,507
“F” headwords: 8
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of, from, or similar to fish.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fishy · fishy · English

fishy · rank #20,116 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

FREQ-MID #20,116
LEN-MID 5 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
VAR-MID 8 variants
BOOK-MID 2,507
PHOTO-FINISH finder

Nearest frequency peer: finder (-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.

eyesight

79,888
FIDE

79,887
finder

79,886
fishy

79,885
flooring

79,884
forearm

79,883

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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

fishy vs fist

60% similar

fishy vs fisk

60% similar

fishy vs fists

60% similar

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

Key facts for fishy
Property	Value
Headword	fishy
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/ˈfɪʃi/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#20,116
Misspellings tracked	8
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fishy”

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

#20,116

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “finder” (#20,115), “flooring” (#20,117), “FIDE” (#20,114). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fishy” is #20,116. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around fishy (IPA /ˈfɪʃi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #20,116 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for fishy, with forms such as "ffishy", "fihsy", and "fishhy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fist", "fisk", "fists", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fishi, fischey, equivalent to fish + -y. The correct English form is fishy, spelled F-I-S-H-Y.

Definition

1
Of, from, or similar to fish.
2
Suspicious; inspiring doubt.
3
Of a drag queen or a trans woman: appearing very feminine and resembling a cisgender woman.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

What is that fishy odor?
The ſwifteſt Ship beneath with ſudden Chains / In mid Career the fiſhy Bank detains. / The Wind all uſeleſs in the Canvas roars, / In vain the Sailors tug the ſticking Oars. / Fixt as a Rock the ſteady Throng abides; / The Ship as anchor'd in her Harbour rides.

Etymology

From Middle English fishi, fischey, equivalent to fish + -y.

This word in other languages

sospechoso(Español)ichthyique(Français)fischig(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ffishy
fihsy
fishhy
fishyy
fisshy
fisyh
fsihy
ifshy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fishy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

Edit distance from "fishy"

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 "fishy"?

"fishy" is spelled F-I-S-H-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈfɪʃi/.

What does "fishy" mean?

As an adjective, "fishy" means: Of, from, or similar to fish.

What words are commonly confused with "fishy"?

"fishy" is commonly confused with "fist", "fisk", "fists". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "fishy"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fishy" is /ˈfɪʃi/. 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 "fishy"?

From Middle English fishi, fischey, equivalent to fish + -y. 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 "fishy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

frail#20,119 glaze#20,125 Cuomo#20,080 Macau#20,159

Similar misspelling depth

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

hooded8 variants Hussain8 variants diffuse8 variants diablo8 variants