Suffix · forms adjectives
Adds the nuance of "somewhat", "a bit" or "resembling": red becomes reddish.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
-ish creates adjectives that indicate approximation, resemblance or a softened degree of a quality. "Reddish" does not mean exactly red — it means "somewhat red", "with a red tinge". "Childish" does not describe a child — it describes someone who behaves like one. Two main uses: (1) approximate colours and qualities: reddish, greenish, coldish; (2) behaviour or appearance resembling something: childish, foolish, selfish.
In informal modern English, "ish" is also used on its own as a response to mean "sort of" or "more or less". "Are you ready?" — "Ish." "Did you like it?" — "Ish." This colloquial use is very common in spoken English, especially among younger speakers. It signals mild agreement or approximation without committing to a firm yes or no.
A special historical use of -ish is for nationalities and languages: Spanish, English, Swedish, Turkish, Scottish, Irish. These were not formed with the same productive rule as reddish or childish — they are fixed historical forms. But knowing that -ish appears in nationality words helps you recognise the pattern.
-ish is added to adjectives (approximate qualities) or nouns (resemblance). Minimal spelling changes.
With colours, the final consonant may double if the vowel is short (red → reddish). With nouns and adjectives, just add -ish with no other changes. -ish also works informally with numbers for approximation: "She is thirtyish."
-ish/ɪʃ/ · sounds like 'ish'
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
"childish" is negative: immature behaviour. For "relating to childhood" use "childhood" or "children's".
"selfish" is negative. Do not confuse it with "self-confident" (positive) or "self-care" (neutral).
Only "red" doubles (reddish) because the vowel is short. "Green" has a long vowel: greenish, not greennish.
A trick to remember it
For approximate colours, just add -ish: red → reddish, green → greenish, blue → bluish. For negative personality traits, -ish signals the person resembles something undesirable: childish, foolish, selfish.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"childish" means...
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
Which sentence uses -ish correctly?
The suffix -ish adds the nuance of "somewhat", "a bit" or "resembling": red becomes reddish. In Spanish it usually maps to somewhat / -ish (approximate).
The ending -ish is pronounced /ɪʃ/ · sounds like 'ish'. For example, "reddish".
"red" becomes "reddish". It is a typical example of the -ish suffix.
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.