jellyfish
/ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/
"jellyfish" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“jellyfish” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #20,972 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #20,972
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 13
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | jellyfish |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #20,972 |
| Misspellings tracked | 13 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “jellyfish” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for jellyfish is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #20,972 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for jellyfish, with forms such as "ejllyfish", "jellfyish", and "jellyffish". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gel- Latin gelū Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin gelō ▲ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto… The correct English form is jellyfish, spelled J-E-L-L-Y-F-I-S-H.
Definition
- 1An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
- 2An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
- 3An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
- 4An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
- 5A sudoku technique involving possible cell locations for a digit, or pair, or triple, in uniquely four rows and four columns only. This allows for the elimination of candidates around the grid.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gel- Latin gelū Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin gelō ▲ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Latin -āta Early Medieval Latin gelāta Old French geleebor. Middle English gele English jelly Proto-Indo-European *péysks Proto-Germanic *fiskaz Proto-West Germanic *fisk Old English fisċ Middle English fisch English fish English jellyfish From jelly + fish. From being an aquatic creature (i.e. fish) that is gelatinous (“jelly”). Despite the name, jellyfish are not biologically classified as fish. The term appeared in the mid-19th century and displaced various older terms such as sea jelly (now much less common), blubber/sea blubber, nettle/sea nettle (both now referring to specific jellyfish species), and, in scientific literature, medusa.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ejllyfish,jellfyish,jellyffish,jellyfihs,jellyfishh,jellyfissh,jellyfsih,jellyifsh,jellyyfish,jelyfish,jelylfish,jjellyfish,jlelyfish
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of jellyfish - 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.
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 "jellyfish"?
What does "jellyfish" mean?
What are common misspellings of "jellyfish"?
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What is the origin of the word "jellyfish"?
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Using “jellyfish”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is J-E-L-L-Y-F-I-S-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English 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.