# selfish

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈsɛlf.ɪʃ/ · frequency rank #6,009

## Definitions
1. Holding one's own self-interest as the standard for decision making.
2. Having excessive or exclusive regard and concern for one's own well-being, profit or pleasure, with little or no consideration for others.
3. Of video game characters: relying on their own actions and capabilities to be effective in the game, rather than on other characters.
4. Related to or equivalent to a selfish gene; best understood as existing to preserve and replicate itself in competition with other entities at the same level of existence, rather than at the level of the individual or population containing it.

## Etymology
From self + -ish. Compare Danish selvisk (“selfish”), Swedish självisk (“selfish”).

## Easily confused with
- **shellfish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/selfish-vs-shellfish)
- **selfishly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/selfish-vs-selfishly)
- **selfie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/selfie-vs-selfish)

## Common misspellings (11)
`eslfish`, `seflish`, `selffish`, `selfihs`, `selfishh`, `selfissh`, `selfsih`, `selifsh`, `sellfish`, `slefish`, `sselfish`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/selfish