The -ish Ending: How to Pronounce English, Finish, Publish and Polish

The ending -ish looks like a tiny detail, yet it shows up in the names of languages and nationalities (English, Spanish, British), in everyday verbs (finish, publish, punish) and in a playful adjective suffix (reddish, childish, six-ish). The good news: it sounds the same every time. -ish is a short, weak /ɪʃ/ with no stress of its own, and the stress sits on the syllable right before it: ENG-lish, FIN-ish, PUB-lish, es-TAB-lish.

Why does this matter? Learners often turn the ending into a long "eesh", or they put the stress on it, as in "fin-EESH" or "pub-LEESH". Both make a very common word harder to recognize. Once you treat -ish as a quick, light tail, dozens of words fall into place.

The Rule in Short

1. -ish is always /ɪʃ/: the short vowel of sit plus the sh of ship. Never /iʃ/ ("eesh").
2. It is unstressed: it is quick, quiet and low in pitch. It never carries the main stress of the word.
3. The stress is on the syllable just before it: ENglish, IRish, SPANish, FINish, PUBlish, esTABlish, deMOLish.
4. Adjective -ish ("somewhat") keeps the stress of the base word: REDdish, CHILDish, TALLish, FORTYish.
5. The stand-alone answer "ish" (informal, "kind of") is a full word, so it is the one case where /ɪʃ/ is stressed.

Why It Works

-ish is a stress-neutral suffix

Some English suffixes pull the stress toward themselves or shift it (-ic, -ity, -ation: photograph, photoGRAPHic, photoGRAPHy). Others are "neutral": they are added to the end and leave the base word's stress exactly where it was. -ish belongs to the neutral group, along with -ness, -less, -ful and -ly. So CHILD becomes CHILDish, FOOL becomes FOOLish, and SELF becomes SELFish. The suffix is just a weak syllable hanging off the end. For a good picture of how weak syllables behave, see our guide to unstressed syllables and schwa.

Why verbs like finish and publish look different

Many verbs ending in -ish (finish, punish, establish, abolish, demolish) came into English from Old French verbs, and they settled into one stress pattern: the stress goes on the syllable immediately before -ish. Because -ish itself is weak, that means the stress is always second from the end: FIN-ish, PUN-ish, es-TAB-lish, a-BOL-ish, de-MOL-ish, di-MIN-ish, ac-COM-plish, em-BEL-lish. You never need to look up where the stress falls; count back one syllable from the ending. When you add -ment, the stress stays put: esTABlishment, PUNishment, acCOMplishment.

Nationalities and languages follow the same logic

English, Irish, British, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Turkish, Finnish, Scottish, Flemish are all stressed on the first syllable before the ending, and most have just two syllables. Only a few nationality endings really move the stress (-ese, -ian, -an, as in Japan, JapanESE); -ish is not one of them. If you are curious about those, read our guide to nationality words and stress shift.

The hidden /ŋɡ/ in English

The word English is spelled with an E but starts with the short vowel /ɪ/, followed by /ŋ/ and a real /ɡ/: /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/, "ING-glish". The /ɡ/ is not written, but it is there, just like in finger /ˈfɪŋɡɚ/ and England /ˈɪŋɡlənd/. Without it you get "Inglish" or "Ingleesh", which sound slightly off to native ears.

The American flap in British, Scottish and fortyish

In American English, a /t/ between two vowels after a stressed syllable becomes a quick flap that sounds close to a soft /d/. So British is /ˈbrɪt̬ɪʃ/ ("BRIH-dish"), Scottish is /ˈskɑt̬ɪʃ/ and fortyish is /ˈfɔrt̬iɪʃ/. Do not release a hard, puffy /t/ here. In British English the /t/ stays a clear /t/, and either choice is fine as long as the -ish stays light.

How it sounds in a sentence

In connected speech the weak ending almost melts into the next word. In "the Spanish teacher" you hear SPAN, then a quick -ish that glides into "teacher"; in "I'll finish it" the -ish links straight to "it" (FIN-ish-it). That is another reason to keep the syllable short and soft: a heavy, stressed -ish breaks the natural rhythm of the phrase.

Pattern Table

Read each word aloud, tap once on the stressed syllable, and keep the last syllable tiny.

Exceptions and Trap Pairs

• Polish vs polish: the nationality is /ˈpoʊlɪʃ/ (POH-lish, from Poland); the verb "to shine" is /ˈpɑlɪʃ/ (PAH-lish). Both are stressed on the first syllable and end in a weak /ɪʃ/; only the first vowel changes. Written with a capital letter you know it is the nationality.
• Finnish and finish: both are /ˈfɪnɪʃ/ in American English, so they are homophones. Context tells your listener which one you mean.
• Jewish /ˈdʒuɪʃ/: two syllables, JOO-ish, stressed on the first. Do not say "Jew-eesh".
• Welsh /wɛlʃ/: one syllable, no vowel before the sh. French /frɛntʃ/ and Dutch /dʌtʃ/ end in /tʃ/, not /ʃ/. Scots /skɑts/ is the name of the people and the language, Scottish /ˈskɑt̬ɪʃ/ is the everyday adjective, and Scotch refers to whisky or tape.
• fish, dish, wish: these are one-syllable words, so the vowel is the main vowel of the word. In compounds such as goldfish /ˈɡoʊldˌfɪʃ/ the last part keeps a lighter secondary stress, but the vowel is still /ɪ/, never "ee".
• Variation: accomplish is usually /əˈkɑmplɪʃ/ in the US, though /əˈkʌmplɪʃ/ is also heard. Nourish and flourish are /ˈnɝɪʃ/ and /ˈflɝɪʃ/ in American English, while many British speakers say /ˈnʌrɪʃ/ and /ˈflʌrɪʃ/. The stress never moves, and the ending is always /ɪʃ/.
• The word "ish": used alone ("Are you tired?" "Ish.") it is a real, stressed word. Added to numbers and times (six-ish, seven-ish) it goes back to being a weak ending: /ˈsɪksɪʃ/.

Common Learner Mistakes

• "Eesh" instead of /ɪʃ/: saying "Spa-neesh" or "fin-eesh" with a long /i/. Keep the vowel short and relaxed, like fish.
• Stressing the ending: "fin-ISH", "pub-LISH", "Eng-LISH". The pitch and volume peak belongs on the syllable before it.
• Dropping the /ŋɡ/ in English: "Inglish" or "Ingleesh". Say ING-glish with the /ŋ/ plus /ɡ/.
• Adding a vowel after the sh: "finishi", "publishe". English words end on the /ʃ/; stop the air, do not add a tiny extra vowel.
• Starting Spanish with an extra vowel: "eSpanish". English begins with the /s/ blend right away: SPAN-ish.
• Mixing up Polish and polish: if you say /ˈpoʊlɪʃ/ for "to shine the silver", people will think of Poland for a moment.
• Pronouncing every syllable at the same volume: in establish the first syllable is weak (ih), the second is strong (STAB), the last two are light (lish).

How to Practice

1. Count back one. For any word ending in -ish, find the syllable just before the ending and make that one louder, longer and higher. Everything else is quiet.
2. Whisper the ending. Say finish with a loud FIN and a whispered -ish. Then do the same with publish, punish, Spanish.
3. Fish test. Say fish, then finish. The vowel in the last syllable is exactly the vowel of fish, just shorter.
4. Add the glide for English. Practice finger, England, English in a row so your tongue learns the /ŋɡ/.
5. Drill the pairs. Alternate Finnish / finish and Polish / polish, then say a sentence with each.
6. Build the adjectives. Take a base word and add -ish: red, tall, child, fool, self, style, forty. Notice that the stress does not move.
7. Record yourself reading the sentences below and compare with the audio on the practice cards.

Practice

Practice Sentences

• The British and Irish delegates wanted to publish a Danish report.
• She polished the Polish pottery until it looked brand new.
• Spanish and Finnish are both on my list, but I will finish English first.
• The Welsh and Scottish teams established a new tradition.
• Don't be so childish; it's selfish to vanish before we finish.
• It's a reddish, tallish building that looks about fortyish years old.
• "Are you hungry?" "Ish."
• Too little sleep can diminish your energy and punish your schedule.
• They wanted to demolish the old Swedish bakery, but the town voted to cherish it.
• Good food will nourish you, and a clear plan will help your business flourish.

Quick Summary

• -ish is always a short, weak /ɪʃ/ ("ish", never "eesh").
• The stress is on the syllable right before it: ENglish, FINish, PUBlish, esTABlish.
• Adjective -ish ("somewhat") keeps the base stress: REDdish, CHILDish, fortyish.
• English has a hidden /ŋɡ/: ING-glish.
• American speakers flap the /t/ in British, Scottish and fortyish.
• Trap pairs: Polish /ˈpoʊlɪʃ/ vs polish /ˈpɑlɪʃ/; Finnish and finish sound the same.
• Welsh and French do not end in -ish; the stand-alone word "ish" is the only stressed one.