little bit sour or sour-ish ?
Hi experts,

I would like to know about a word sour-ish. Most of the dictionaries does not show this word. But some sites or authors I have seen using it.

Any native English speaker/experts can help me, I think.
Which sentence do we use:
1. The fruit is sour-ish
2. The fruit is little bit sour.
3. The fruit is somewhat sour.

Some of the sites mention that sour-ish is a very rarely used adjective and difficult to articulate.

Kindly let me know.
Thanks, An.

Question

little bit sour or sour-ish ?
Hi experts,

I would like to know about a word sour-ish. Most of the dictionaries does not show this word. But some sites or authors I have seen using it.

Any native English speaker/experts can help me, I think. 
Which sentence do we use:
1. The fruit is sour-ish
2. The fruit is little bit sour.
3. The fruit is somewhat sour.

Some of the sites mention that sour-ish is a very rarely used adjective and difficult to articulate.

Kindly let me know.
Thanks, An.

Answer

The suffix "-ish" is one of those pieces of English which we can tack onto almost any adjective to mean something approximately like that adjective.  However, in many cases that's the problem: the new word looks tacked-together and artificial.  Perhaps over time we might find the new word acceptable (like "bluish"), but for now it just looks slightly odd, even though we understand it.

Natural sentences would be:

The fruit is a little bit sour.  (You need "a".)
The fruit is somewhat sour.

Answer

I'd agree with Peachey for written English.

"ish" is more common in spoken English. Would I write "sour-ish" or "sourish" or "bluish"? Never. Would I say it? Sometimes.

Answers · 4

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