jellyfish

/ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/

//ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ// noun

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

"jellyfish" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“jellyfish” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,972. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,972
frequency rank, English
796
“J” headwords
13
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-jellyfish · jellyfish · English

jellyfish · rank #20,972 · 13 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,972
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 796
  • PHOTO-FINISH ISP

Nearest frequency peer: ISP (-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 “jellyfish”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “jellyfish” 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
Key facts for jellyfish
PropertyValue
Headwordjellyfish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#20,972
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “jellyfish”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).jellyfishlands here:

#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 “ISP” (#20,971), “Jimi” (#20,973), “intolerant” (#20,970). Among 796 “J” headwords, “jellyfish” is #20,972. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around jellyfish (IPA /ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #20,972 among 796 “J” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
  2. 2
    An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
  3. 3
    An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
  4. 4
    An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
  5. 5
    A 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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. A recent study focused on the enzymatic and cytotoxic functions of jellyfish metalloproteases and identified diverse proteolytic effects including gelatinolytic, caseinolytic, and fibrinolytic activities.
  2. There are asexual variants among all sorts of creatures, including jellyfish, dandelions, lichens and lizards.

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

medusa(Español)méduse(Français)Qualle(Deutsch)medusa(Português)

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.

ejllyfish2jellfyish2jellyffish1jellyfihs2jellyfishh1jellyfissh1jellyfsih2jellyifsh2
Edit distance from "jellyfish"

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"?
"jellyfish" is spelled J-E-L-L-Y-F-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/.
What does "jellyfish" mean?
As a noun, "jellyfish" means: An almost transparent aquatic animal; any one of the acalephs, especially one of the larger species, having a jellylike appearance.
What are common misspellings of "jellyfish"?
Common misspellings include "ejllyfish", "jellfyish", "jellyffish", "jellyfihs", "jellyfishh". The correct spelling is "jellyfish".
How do you pronounce "jellyfish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "jellyfish" is /ˈd͡ʒɛliˌfɪʃ/. 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 "jellyfish"?
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 *... 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 "jellyfish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Karnataka#20,976inference#20,963Kurdistan#20,981immersive#20,959

Similar misspelling depth

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

hypnosis13 variantsgrasping13 variantspesticide13 variantsseasonally13 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list