whish, wish

The words whish, wish sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do whish, wish sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: whish, wish are homophones of the English language.

whish
  1. :: interjection

    Alternative spelling of whisht.

  2. :: noun

    A sibilant sound, especially that of rapid movement through the air.

  3. :: verb

    To make such a sound.

wish
  1. :: noun

    Something desired or longed for.

  2. :: noun

    A desire, longing, or strong inclination for a specific thing.

  3. :: noun

    An expression of a desire, longing, or strong inclination; a petition.

  4. :: verb-transitive

    To long for; want. See Synonyms at desire.

Definitions from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License, from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").