goldfish

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

/ˈɡoʊldfɪʃ/

//ˈɡoʊldfɪʃ// noun

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

The verdict

“goldfish” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,126. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,126
frequency rank, English: 2,313
“G” headwords: 13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A type of small fish, Carassius auratus, typically orange-colored.

Corpus desk

Index EN-goldfish · goldfish · English

goldfish · rank #20,126 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

FREQ-MID #20,126
LEN-LONG 8 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-0 No pairs
VAR-HIGH 13 variants
BOOK-MID 2,313
PHOTO-FINISH glaze

Nearest frequency peer: glaze (-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.

generational

79,878
glaze

79,876
goldfish

79,875
Greenville

79,874
grizzly

79,873
grotesque

79,872

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

Key facts for goldfish
Property	Value
Headword	goldfish
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈɡoʊldfɪʃ/
Letters	8
Frequency rank	#20,126
Misspellings tracked	13
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “goldfish”

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

#20,126

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

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “glaze” (#20,125), “Greenville” (#20,127), “grizzly” (#20,128). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “goldfish” is #20,126. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around goldfish (IPA /ˈɡoʊldfɪʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,126 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for goldfish, with forms such as "ggoldfish", "glodfish", and "godlfish". 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. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From gold + fish. The correct English form is goldfish, spelled G-O-L-D-F-I-S-H.

Definition

1
A type of small fish, Carassius auratus, typically orange-colored.
2
A person with an unreliable memory.
3
Nonstandard form of Goldfish (“a small orange saltine-like cracker shaped in the form of a fish”).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

For the children's fair we'll have a few games they can play, so that each child "wins" a goldfish as a prize.
However, unless you have a nonshedding, nonlicking breed, there's no such thing as a truly hypoallergenic dog. How about a nice goldfish instead?

Etymology

From gold + fish.

This word in other languages

pez dorado(Español)poisson rouge(Français)Goldfisch(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

ggoldfish
glodfish
godlfish
golddfish
goldffish
goldfihs
goldfishh
goldfissh
goldfsih
goldifsh
golfdish
golldfish
ogldfish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of goldfish - 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.

Edit distance from "goldfish"

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 "goldfish"?

"goldfish" is spelled G-O-L-D-F-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡoʊldfɪʃ/.

What does "goldfish" mean?

As a noun, "goldfish" means: A type of small fish, Carassius auratus, typically orange-colored.

What are common misspellings of "goldfish"?

Common misspellings include "ggoldfish", "glodfish", "godlfish", "golddfish", "goldffish". The correct spelling is "goldfish".

How do you pronounce "goldfish"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "goldfish" is /ˈɡoʊldfɪʃ/. 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 "goldfish"?

From gold + fish. 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 "goldfish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

flooring#20,117 eyesight#20,113 Ethernet#20,110 esteemed#20,109

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

grotesque13 variants dignified13 variants Proverbs13 variants barbarian13 variants