K
![]() | ||||||||
|
![]() | ||||||||
|
|
Translingual
Etymology
From the Etruscan letter 𐌊 (k, “ka”), from the Ancient Greek letter Κ (K, “kappa”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤊 (k, “kap”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓂧.
See also
Symbol
K
- (chemistry) Symbol for potassium (Latin kalium).
- Symbol for kelvin, the SI unit of thermodynamic temperature. Specifically (U+212A version)
- (biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for lysine.
- (geology) Symbol for hydraulic conductivity.
- Abbreviation of kilo (thousand).
- 5k = 5,000
- (radio slang) over, waiting for reply
- (linguistics) A wildcard for a velar consonant
Gallery
- Letter styles
- Uppercase and lowercase versions of K, in normal and italic type
- Uppercase and lowercase K in Fraktur
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /keɪ/, [kʰeɪ]
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪ
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k, plural Ks or K's)
- The eleventh letter of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.
- 1876, "C" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, p. 616:
- The symbol K, however, was not entirely lost; it is found irregularly in inscriptions of all dates down to the times of the empire, and regularly as an initial abbreviation of Kalendæ, Karthago, Kæso (the proper name).
- 1876, "C" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, p. 616:
See also
Number
K (upper case, lower case k)
Noun
K (plural Ks)
- (law, informal) Abbreviation of contract.
- (education, US) Abbreviation of kindergarten.
- "K-8" is Kindergarten through eighth grade.
- (often computing) Abbreviation of kilo-, 1,024.
- 5k = 5,000
- (computing) A single character message used as an acknowledgement (ACK), meaning "previous message received and understood."
- (Morse code) Abbreviation of go ahead, over, an indication that a message is complete and a reply is awaited.
- (baseball) Abbreviation of strikeout. On a baseball scorecard, a frontwards K signifies striking out while swinging the bat, while a backwards K signifies striking out while looking.
- (card games, chess) Abbreviation of king.
- (biology) Abbreviation of carrying capacity.
- (geology) Abbreviation of Cretaceous.
- (slang) Short for OK.
- (knitting) Abbreviation of knit.
- 1855, Godey's Magazine (volume 51, page 71)
- Knit 3, p 1, k 2, purl 1, k 2, m 1, k 2 together, k 1.
- 1855, Godey's Magazine (volume 51, page 71)
- (slang) Abbreviation of ketamine (a drug).
- 1978, John C. Lilly, “Seduction by K”, in The Scientist, Philadelphia: Lippincott, →ISBN, page 167:
- At high levels of concentration of K in the blood, the observer/operator is cut off from his interlock with e.r., including the human consensus reality.
-
- (music) Abbreviation of Köchel number.
- Die Zauberflöte, K. 620
- (UK, government) Abbreviation of Knighthood.
- (economics) Abbreviation of capital.
- (printing) Abbreviation of black.
- (slang, from Jamaican Creole) Abbreviation of Kalashnikov.
- 2011 August 16, “My People”, performed by Kendrick Lamar,Jay Rock:
- We used to run from the KKK but now we runnung from our brothers that be holding them K's.
- 2018 October 16, “Demon Boy”, performed by Slowthai:
- Yeti in the Serengeti, believe the myth. K-man stupid, rub together sticks.
- 2019 November 22, “Payback”, in Netflix&Deal, performed by 03 Greedo,Kenny Beats,OhGeesy,Judge:
- Keep the chopper, I'ma spray that. This is an AR, don't keep the K, man.
-
Translations
Etymology 3
Clipping of OK.
Interjection
K
- (colloquial, text messaging, Internet slang) OK
- 2019, Justin Blackburn, The Bisexual Christian Suburban Failure Enlightening Bipolar Blues, page 23:
- K, dad, I'll go to my room.
- Synonym: 'kay
-
Afar
Letter
K
- The seventh letter in the Afar alphabet.
Angami
Azerbaijani
Letter
K upper case (lower case k)
Central Franconian
Etymology
- /k/ is from West Germanic stem-initial or geminated *k; from *k in nk, lk, rk; in most of Moselle Franconian from *gg.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /k/
Letter
K
- A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
- A letter in the Dutch-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
Usage notes
- In the German-based spelling, doubling of k yields ck. This is used after short vowels except in certain function words and when the letter is followed by another consonant within the word stem.
- In the Dutch-based spelling, doubling of k yields kk. This is used after short vowels if the syllable were otherwise open.
Chinese
Pronunciation
Pronunciation
Noun
K
- Short for 卡拉OK (kǎlā'ōukèi, “karaoke”).
- 唱K所 [Shanghainese] ― [t͡sʰɑ̃³³ kʰe̞⁵⁵ sv̩ʷ²¹] [IPA] ― karaoke bar
Pronunciation
Etymology 5
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation
Etymology 9
From the letter K of the English pattern playing cards. In the spoken language, its name is generally a borrowing from English king into the related dialect.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation 1
Letter
K
- The eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet.
Pronunciation 2
Usage notes
- 《汉语拼音方案》 defines a standard pronunciation for each letter. However, these pronunciations are rarely used in education; another pronunciation is commonly used instead.
- The pronunciation above are only used while referring to letters in Pinyin. They are not used in other context (such as English).
Dutch
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /kaː/
Audio (file)
Esperanto
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /ko/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /k/
Audio (file)
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
See also
Estonian
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
Finnish
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kaː/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -aː
Usage notes
- Doubling of k generally yields ck, but kk is used in loanwords originally spelt with cc.
Hungarian

Etymology 1
Abbreviation of kelet (“east”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈkɛlɛt]
Declension
Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | K | — |
accusative | K-et | — |
dative | K-nek | — |
instrumental | K-tel | — |
causal-final | K-ért | — |
translative | K-té | — |
terminative | K-ig | — |
essive-formal | K-ként | — |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | K-ben | — |
superessive | K-en | — |
adessive | K-nél | — |
illative | K-be | — |
sublative | K-re | — |
allative | K-hez | — |
elative | K-ből | — |
delative | K-ről | — |
ablative | K-től | — |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
K-é | — |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
K-éi | — |
Possessive forms of K | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | K-em | — |
2nd person sing. | K-ed | — |
3rd person sing. | K-e K-je |
— |
1st person plural | K-ünk | — |
2nd person plural | K-etek | — |
3rd person plural | K-ük K-jük |
— |
Coordinate terms
(compass points) égtájak;
északnyugat (ÉNy) | észak (É) | északkelet (ÉK) |
nyugat (Ny) | ![]() |
kelet (K) |
délnyugat (DNy) | dél (D) | délkelet (DK) |
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): [ˈk]
- (letter name): IPA(key): [ˈkaː]
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
Declension
Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | K | K-k |
accusative | K-t | K-kat |
dative | K-nak | K-knak |
instrumental | K-val | K-kkal |
causal-final | K-ért | K-kért |
translative | K-vá | K-kká |
terminative | K-ig | K-kig |
essive-formal | K-ként | K-kként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | K-ban | K-kban |
superessive | K-n | K-kon |
adessive | K-nál | K-knál |
illative | K-ba | K-kba |
sublative | K-ra | K-kra |
allative | K-hoz | K-khoz |
elative | K-ból | K-kból |
delative | K-ról | K-król |
ablative | K-tól | K-któl |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
K-é | K-ké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
K-éi | K-kéi |
Possessive forms of K | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | K-m | K-im |
2nd person sing. | K-d | K-id |
3rd person sing. | K-ja | K-i |
1st person plural | K-nk | K-ink |
2nd person plural | K-tok | K-itok |
3rd person plural | K-juk | K-ik |
Ido
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /k/
Indonesian
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
Italian
Pronunciation
- (letter name) IPA(key): /ˈkap.pa/
- Rhymes: -appa
- (phonemic realization) IPA(key): /k/
- (phonetic realization of some speakers to distinguish between c and k pronunciations) IPA(key): [kʰ]
Letter
K f or m (invariable, upper case, lower case k)
- the eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet, called cappa or kappa in Italian
Usage notes
- The letter K is not considered part of the Italian alphabet and is found only in loanwords.
Jamaican Creole
Noun
K (plural Ks)
- Abbreviation of Kalashnikov.
- 2002 November 12, “Like Glue”, in Dutty Rock, performed by Sean Paul:
- One ting me haffi tell dem, Dutty got di woody woody. Frontway, backway, dutty K-man have di shooby shooby.
- One thing I have to tell them, I've got an erection, Forwards, backwards, the dirty gunman wielding a Kalashnikov has to shove it, shove it.
- 2008 September 12, “Weh Dem A Go”, in Jamaican Style, Vol.3, performed by Vybz Kartel,Jah Vinci:
-
- 2008 December 27, “Last Man Standing”, in Pon Di Gaza 2.0, performed by Vybz Kartel:
- Me get a K from Vagga from De La Vega weh mek Chiney man skin black like naega
- I get a Kalashnikov from my friend Vagga from De La Vega which makes a Chinese man's skin black like a nigga's.
- 2008, “Chiney K”, in Gaza vs Gully EP Part 1, performed by Mavado:
- Inna middle day, gun play. Bad man ah beat di Chiney K. Night turn to day, all mama pray. Dem ah beat di Chiney K.
- In the middle of the day, there's gun play. Bad men shoot the Chinese imitation Kalashnikovs. Night turns to day, all mothers pray. They shoot the Chinese (imitation) Kalashnikovs.
Latvian
Etymology
Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [k]
(file) |
Malay
Pronunciation
- (Name of letter) IPA(key): [ke]
- (Phoneme, Syllable initial) IPA(key): [k]
- (Phoneme 1, Syllable final) IPA(key): [ʔ]
- (Phoneme 2, Syllable final) IPA(key): [k̚]
Portuguese
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
Romani
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /k/
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
See also
- (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /k/
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
Usage notes
Used only in loanwords and some proper nouns.
Saanich
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /k̠ʼ/
Slovene
Letter
K (capital, lowercase k)
- The 12th letter of the Slovene alphabet. Preceded by J and followed by L.
Spanish
Swedish

Pronunciation
- Letter name
- IPA(key): /koː/
- Phoneme
- IPA(key): /k/, /ɕ/
Symbol
K
- (SAB system) history
- (dated, county letter) Blekinge
- Synonym: 10
- (dated, 1941) type of beredskapskort (“readiness ration card”) valid until ration cards for any of the individual items are made
Abbreviations
- Abbreviation of källare, källarplan or källarvåning (“basement level”).
- (card games) Abbreviation of kung (“king”).
- Abbreviation of kallt (“cold”).
- Antonym: V (“warm”)
- Abbreviation of kylskåp (“refrigerator”).
- Coordinate term: F (“freezer”)
- Abbreviation of kontor (“office; office space”).
- Abbreviation of kombinationsbrunn or kopplingsbrunn (“connection vault”).
- Abbreviation of kulvert (“culvert”).
- Abbreviation of kultur (“culture”).
- Abbreviation of klubb (“club; association”).
- (military) Abbreviation of kavalleri (“cavalry”).
Turkish
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /c/, /k/
- (letter name): IPA(key): (standard) /ceː/, /kaː/
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [kaː˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [kaː˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [kaː˧˧]
- Phonetic: ca
Etymology 1
From Portuguese K or French K.
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
See also
- (Quốc ngữ letters) chữ cái; A a (À à, Ả ả, Ã ã, Á á, Ạ ạ), Ă ă (Ằ ằ, Ẳ ẳ, Ẵ ẵ, Ắ ắ, Ặ ặ), Â â (Ầ ầ, Ẩ ẩ, Ẫ ẫ, Ấ ấ, Ậ ậ), B b, C c (Ch ch), D d, Đ đ, E e (È è, Ẻ ẻ, Ẽ ẽ, É é, Ẹ ẹ), Ê ê (Ề ề, Ể ể, Ễ ễ, Ế ế, Ệ ệ), G g (Gh gh, Gi gi), H h, I i (Ì ì, Ỉ ỉ, Ĩ ĩ, Í í, Ị ị), K k (Kh kh), L l, M m, N n (Ng ng, Ngh ngh, Nh nh), O o (Ò ò, Ỏ ỏ, Õ õ, Ó ó, Ọ ọ), Ô ô (Ồ ồ, Ổ ổ, Ỗ ỗ, Ố ố, Ộ ộ), Ơ ơ (Ờ ờ, Ở ở, Ỡ ỡ, Ớ ớ, Ợ ợ), P p (Ph ph), Q q (Qu qu), R r, S s, T t (Th th, Tr tr), U u (Ù ù, Ủ ủ, Ũ ũ, Ú ú, Ụ ụ), Ư ư (Ừ ừ, Ử ử, Ữ ữ, Ứ ứ, Ự ự), V v, X x, Y y (Ỳ ỳ, Ỷ ỷ, Ỹ ỹ, Ý ý, Ỵ ỵ)
Usage notes
- Colloquially, even physics and chemistry teachers say "độ K" instead of just "K", despite the fact that there is no độ (“degree”) here like độ C (“degree Celsius”) or độ F (“degree Fahrenheit”).
Yoruba
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)
See also
- (Latin-script letters) lẹ́tà; A a (Á á, À à, Ā ā), B b, D d, E e (É é, È è, Ē ē), Ẹ ẹ (Ẹ́ ẹ́, Ẹ̀ ẹ̀, Ẹ̄ ẹ̄), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Ī ī), J j, K k, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ō ō), Ọ ọ (Ọ́ ọ́, Ọ̀ ọ̀, Ọ̄ ọ̄), P p, R r, S s, Ṣ ṣ, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Ū ū), W w, Y y
- As used in Benin: (Latin-script letters) lɛ́tà; A a, B b, D d, E e, Ɛ ɛ, F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i, J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ɔ ɔ, P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, U u, W w, Y y
Zulu
Letter
K (upper case, lower case k)