wish

/wɪʃ/

//wɪʃ// noun

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

"wish" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wish” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #685. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#685
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wish · wish · English

wish · rank #685 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #685
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH training

Nearest frequency peer: training (-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 “wish”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “wish” 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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

wish vs WS
0% similar
wish vs wit
50% similar
wish vs wiz
50% similar

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

Key facts for wish
PropertyValue
Headwordwish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/wɪʃ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#685
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wish”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).wishlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “training” (#684), “wouldn't” (#686), “takes” (#683). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wish” is #685. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around wish (IPA /wɪʃ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #685 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for wish, with forms such as "iwsh", "wihs", and "wishh". 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, "WS", "wit", "wiz", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Cognate with Scots wis (“to wish”), Sat… The correct English form is wish, spelled W-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.
  2. 2
    An expression of such a desire, often connected with ideas of magic and supernatural power.
  3. 3
    The thing desired or longed for.
  4. 4
    A water meadow.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It is my wish that the bequest (should) be given to an almshouse.
  2. make someone's wish come true

Etymology

From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Cognate with Scots wis (“to wish”), Saterland Frisian wonskje (“to wish”), West Frisian winskje (“to wish”), Dutch wensen (“to wish”), German wünschen (“to wish”), Luxembourgish wënschen (“to wish”), Yiddish ווינטשן (vintshn, “to wish”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål ønske (“to wish”), Faroese ynskja (“to wish, to desire”), Icelandic æskja, óska (“to wish”), Norwegian Nynorsk ønskja, ønskje, ønska, ønske, ynskja, ynskje (“to wish, to desire”), Swedish önska (“to wish”). Via PIE cognate with Latin Venus, veneror (“venerate, honour, love”), English wonder.

This word in other languages

deseo(Español)souhait(Français)Wunsch(Deutsch)desejo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwsh
  • wihs
  • wishh
  • wissh
  • wsih
  • wwish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wish - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

iwsh2wihs2wishh1wissh1wsih2wwish1
Edit distance from "wish"

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 "wish"?
"wish" is spelled W-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /wɪʃ/.
What does "wish" mean?
As a noun, "wish" means: A desire, hope, or longing for something or for something to happen.
What words are commonly confused with "wish"?
"wish" is commonly confused with "WS", "wit", "wiz". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wish" is /wɪʃ/. 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 "wish"?
From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Cognate with Scots wis (“to w... 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 "wish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gold#692gone#693hour#675July#696

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

sorry6 variantsking6 variantstest6 variantsalone6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list