wishing

/ˈwɪʃɪŋ/

//ˈwɪʃɪŋ// noun

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

"wishing" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wishing” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,874. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,874
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
12
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - gerund of wish (“the act of making a wish”)

Corpus desk

Index EN-wishing · wishing · English

wishing · rank #7,874 · 11 variants · 12 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,874
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 12 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH WiFi

Nearest frequency peer: WiFi (-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 “wishing”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “wishing” 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).

wishing vs within
71% similar
wishing vs writhing
75% similar
wishing vs wiring
71% similar

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

Key facts for wishing
PropertyValue
Headwordwishing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈwɪʃɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#7,874
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs12
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “wishing”

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).wishinglands 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 “WiFi” (#7,873), “workforce” (#7,875), “virtue” (#7,872). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “wishing” is #7,874. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around wishing (IPA /ˈwɪʃɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,874 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Dominant gloss: "gerund of wish (“the act of making a wish”)".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for wishing, with forms such as "iwshing", "wihsing", and "wishhing". 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. It also participates in 12 confusable-pair relationships, "within", "writhing", "wiring", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From wish + -ing. The correct English form is wishing, spelled W-I-S-H-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    gerund of wish (“the act of making a wish”)

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. All that happeneth by wyſſhynge, is none of thine. As who ſhuld ſay what ſo euer cõmeth vnto the [thee] by thyne owne traueile and induſtrie that only counte thyne owne.
  2. Discourse there was none; only exclamations and interjections, and wishings, wishings, wishings that Bessy were but his own for ever — his dear, dear little wife, as assuredly one day she should be!

Etymology

From wish + -ing.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • iwshing
  • wihsing
  • wishhing
  • wishign
  • wishingg
  • wishinng
  • wishnig
  • wisihng
  • wisshing
  • wsihing
  • wwishing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

iwshing2wihsing2wishhing1wishign2wishingg1wishinng1wishnig2wisihng2
Edit distance from "wishing"

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 "wishing"?
"wishing" is spelled W-I-S-H-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈwɪʃɪŋ/.
What does "wishing" mean?
As a noun, "wishing" means: gerund of wish (“the act of making a wish”)
What words are commonly confused with "wishing"?
"wishing" is commonly confused with "within", "writhing", "wiring". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wishing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wishing" is /ˈwɪʃɪŋ/. 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 "wishing"?
From wish + -ing. 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 "wishing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Andrews#7,881begging#7,886terrain#7,858squeeze#7,852

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

verified11 variantsthrilled11 variantsterrified11 variantscommittees11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list