c
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Translingual
Etymology 1
Modification of upper case letter C, from Etruscan 𐌂 (c), from Ancient Greek Γ (G, “Gamma”), from Phoenician 𐤂 (g, “gimel”).
Pronunciation
- (IPA symbol)
IPA (file)
Usage notes
- Not to be confused with ϲ (s) (the lunate sigma).
- In many languages, the letter c represents both a “hard” /k/ sound and a “soft” sound (/s/, /ts/, /tʃ/, or /θ/), based on the following letter.
- In a number of languages, it is used only for the /tʃ/ sound.
- In many languages, it occurs frequently in the digraph with ch.
- In some romanization systems of non-Latin scripts, it represents /tʃ/, /θ/, or /tsʰ/.
See also
- (Latin script): Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Sſs Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
- (Variations of letter C): Ćć Ĉĉ Čč Ċċ C̄c̄ Çç Ḉḉ Ȼȼ Ƈƈ ɕ ᴄ Cc
- Other scripts: г (g, “ge”), ג (g, “gimel”), ʗ
- Letters and symbols with similar shapes: Ɔ (open O), с (s, “es”)
- For more variations, see Appendix:Variations of "c".
- Appendix:Roman script
c on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Etymology 2
Lower case form of upper case roman numeral C, a standardization of Ɔ and C because the latter happens to be an abbreviation of Latin centum (“hundred”), from abbreviation of ƆIC, an alternate form of >I<, from tally stick markings resembling Ж (a superimposed X and I), from the practice of designating each tenth X notch with an extra cut.
Usage notes
With a bar over the numeral, i.e., as c, it represents one hundred thousand.
Derived terms
- English: c-note
See also
- Lesser roman numeral symbol: l (“50”)
- Greater roman numeral symbol: d (“500”)
- Roman numerals
Etymology 5
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Gallery
- Letter styles
- Uppercase and lowercase versions of C, in normal and italic type
- Uppercase and lowercase C in Fraktur
See also
Other representations of C:
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English
Etymology 1

Old English lower case letter c, from 7th century replacement by Latin lower case c of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚳ (c, “cen”).
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /siː/ (usually spelled cee)
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -iː
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /k/, /s/, /tʃ/, ...
- Usage notes: In English, c is usually pronounced as /k/ ("crack", "climb", "clone"), sometimes pronounced as /s/ ("cereal", "celebrity", "citron"), and rarely pronounced as /tʃ/ ("ciao", "cello", "vermicelli"). Sometimes c is pronounced as /tʃ/ due to English words that came from Italian. (Italian has a rule that states that c before i or e is pronounced as /tʃ/.)
Letter
Number
c (lower case, upper case C)
Derived terms
See also
Etymology 2
Various abbreviations
Noun
- (music) The middle tone in either one of the sets of seven white keys on a keyboard or a set of seven strings on a stringed instrument.
Afar
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /ħ/
Albanian
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /t͡s(ə)/
Letter
c (upper case C, lower case c)
See also
- (Latin-script letters) shkronjë; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, Dh dh, E e, Ë ë, F f, G g, Gj gj, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, Nj nj, O o, P p, Q q, R r, Rr rr, S s, Sh sh, T t, Th th, U u, V v, X x, Xh xh, Y y, Z z, Zh zh
- (Arvanitic) (Greek script letters) Α α, Β β, Ƃ ƅ, Γ γ, Γj γj, Δ δ, D d, Ε ε, Ε̱ ε̱, Ζ ζ, Ζ̇ ζ̇, Θ θ, Ι ι, J j, Κ κ, Κ̇ κ̇, Λ λ, ΛΛ λλ, Λ̇ λ̇, Μ μ, Ν ν, Ν̇ ν̇, Ο ο, Π π, Ρ ρ, Ρ̇ ρ̇, Σ σ, Σ̈ σ̈, Τ τ, Ȣ ȣ, Υ υ, Φ φ, Χ χ, Χ̇ χ̇, ΤΣ τσ, ΤΣ̈ τσ̈, DΣ dσ, DΣ̈ dσ̈
Basque
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s̻e/, [s̻e̞]
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Usage notes
- Used chiefly in recent loanwords and foreign proper nouns.
Catalan
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /se/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /k/, /s/
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - (letter name): IPA(key): /seː/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /s/, /k/, /tʃ/
- Rhymes: -eː
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Esperanto
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /tso/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /ts/
Audio (file)
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Estonian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈtseː/, [ˈtseː]
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Usage notes
- Used only in foreign words.
Fijian
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /ð/
Finnish
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈseː/, [ˈs̠e̞ː] (name of letter)
Audio: (file)
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Usage notes
- Used only in loanwords. In more established loanwords replaced with k or s.
See also
Etymology 2
Usage notes
Capitalized for the great octave or any octave below that, or in names of major keys; not capitalized for the small octave or any octave above that, or in names of minor keys.
Declension
Declension of c (type maa)
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French
Pronunciation
- (letter name) IPA(key): /se/
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /k/, /s/
Audio (file)
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
- The third letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.
- 1837, Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manchefr.Wikisource, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Chapter I:
- Avec ces propos et d’autres semblables, le pauvre gentilhomme perdait le jugement. Il passait les nuits et se donnait la torture pour les comprendre, pour les approfondir, pour leur tirer le sens des entrailles, ce qu’Aristote lui-même n’aurait pu faire, s’il fût ressuscité tout exprès pour cela.
- With these passages and other similar ones, the poor gentleman lost his judgement. He spent his nights and tortured himself to understand them, to consider them more deeply, to take from them their deepest meaning, which Aristotle himself would not have been able to do, had he been resurrected for that very purpose.
-
Contraction
c
- (text messaging, Internet slang) Informal spelling of c'est
- C nul ici sans George
- It's rubbish here without George
Fula
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /tʃ/
Hungarian
Alternative forms
- (Protestant; obsolete) tz, (chiefly Catholic; archaic) cz
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): [ˈt͡s]
- (letter name): IPA(key): [ˈt͡seː]
Audio (file)
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Declension
Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony) | ||
---|---|---|
singular | plural | |
nominative | c | c-k |
accusative | c-t | c-ket |
dative | c-nek | c-knek |
instrumental | c-vel | c-kkel |
causal-final | c-ért | c-kért |
translative | c-vé | c-kké |
terminative | c-ig | c-kig |
essive-formal | c-ként | c-kként |
essive-modal | — | — |
inessive | c-ben | c-kben |
superessive | c-n | c-ken |
adessive | c-nél | c-knél |
illative | c-be | c-kbe |
sublative | c-re | c-kre |
allative | c-hez | c-khez |
elative | c-ből | c-kből |
delative | c-ről | c-kről |
ablative | c-től | c-ktől |
non-attributive possessive - singular |
c-é | c-ké |
non-attributive possessive - plural |
c-éi | c-kéi |
Possessive forms of c | ||
---|---|---|
possessor | single possession | multiple possessions |
1st person sing. | c-m | c-im |
2nd person sing. | c-d | c-id |
3rd person sing. | c-je | c-i |
1st person plural | c-nk | c-ink |
2nd person plural | c-tek | c-itek |
3rd person plural | c-jük | c-ik |
Derived terms
See also
- (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.
Further reading
- (sound, letter, item, or abbreviation): c , (musical note, its symbol or key/position): c , (interjection expressing surprise or disparagement): c , (interjection for calling cats): c , (interjection for calling pigs or horses): c in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- c in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (’A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2023)
Ido
Italian
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
- (phoneme) IPA(key): [ts]
Audio (file)
Lushootseed
Letter
c
- The fifth letter of the Lushootseed alphabet, pronounced as a voiceless alveolar affricate.
Norwegian Bokmål
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
From Latin c, from the uppercase letter C, from Etruscan Etruscan 𐌂 (c), from Ancient Greek Γ (G, “Gamma”), from Phoenician 𐤂 (g, “gimel”).
Pronunciation
- (letter name) IPA(key): /seː/
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /s/, /k/, /tʃ/, /ʃ/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -eː
- Hyphenation: c
- Homophones: C, se
- Usage notes: In Norwegian, c is pronounced as /k/ before the vowel letters a, o, and u, as well as all consonants ("campus", "corner", "cue", "credo"), it is pronounced as /s/ before the vowel letters i, e, y and æ ("cicerone", "cellete", "cyste", cæsar), and rarely pronounced as /tʃ/ or /ʃ/ in some Italian loanwords ("cembalo", "ciabatta", "cello").
Letter
c (uppercase C)
See also
Noun
c m (definite singular c-en, indefinite plural c-er, definite plural c-ene)
- the letter c, the third letter of the Norwegian alphabet
- indicates the third entry in a list, order or rank
- 1857, Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter VIII, page 515:
- [jeg har] allerede sagt A. Traditionen vil nok lægge B. og C. til
- [I have] already said A. Tradition will probably add B. and C. to
- 1939, Knut Hamsun, Artikler, page 100:
- historie er, hvad A mener til forskel fra B, og hvad C igen mener til forskel fra A og B
- history is what A means as a difference from B, and what C in turn means as a difference from A and B
-
- (music) C, c-note (the first note in the C chromatic and major scales; the lowest note of an instrument, written below the staff and the D note)
- 1997, Tove Nilsen, G for Georg, page 42:
- så gal at man virkelig tror at svaler er g-nøkler og bass-nøkler og a’er og c’er som svever rundt hverandre og lager konsert i himmelen
- so crazy that you really think swallows are g-keys and bass-keys and a's and c's floating around each other and making a concert in the sky
- den høye C ― high C
- 1939, Knut Hamsun, Artikler, page 100:
- [de] larmet ikke og gik ikke og tok det høie C
- [they] did not make noise and did not go and did the high C
- 1999, Børre Qvamme, Opera, operette og ballett gjennom tidene, page 70:
- Duprez vakte sensasjon ved sine ut de poitrine, høy c tatt som brysttone
- Duprez aroused sensation by his out de poitrine, high c taken as chest tone
- 2000, Pål Gerhard Olsen, Fredstid:
- han gjør stolen hennes tobent så hun når den høye c av forskrekkelse
- he makes her chair two-legged so she reaches the high c out of fright
-
- (grammar) Abbreviation of genus commune.
Usage notes
- Only used in words of foreign origin, usually English. Even rare in loanwords, as this letter does not represent a sound of its own.
- Still kept in many Christian names, therefore Caroline and Karoline are both acceptable spellings.
Etymology 2
Abbreviation of centi- (“centi-”), from Latin centum (“hundred”), from Proto-Italic *kentom (“hundred”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm (“hundred”), from *déḱm̥ (“ten”).
Pronunciation
Etymology 3
Abbreviation of cent, from English cent, from Middle English cent, from Old French cent (“one hundred”), from Latin centum (“hundred”), from Proto-Italic *kentom (“hundred”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm (“hundred”), from *déḱm̥ (“ten”).
Pronunciation
Etymology 4
Abbreviation of centime, from French centime, from cent (“hundred”), from Middle French cent, from Old French cent (“hundred”), from Latin centum (“hundred”), from Proto-Italic *kentom (“hundred”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm (“hundred”), from *déḱm̥ (“ten”).
Pronunciation
Etymology 5
Abbreviation of centavo, from Spanish centavo (from ciento, from Old Spanish) and Portuguese centavo (from cento, from Old Portuguese cento), both stemming from Latin centum (“hundred”), from Proto-Italic *kentom (“hundred”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm (“hundred”), from *déḱm̥ (“ten”).
Pronunciation
Etymology 6
Abbreviation of cykel, from Ancient Greek κῠ́κλος (kúklos), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos (“circle, wheel”), from *kʷel- (“to turn”).
Pronunciation
References
- “c” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
- “c” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
- “C (Bokstav)” in Store norske leksikon
- “C (Forkortelse)” in Store norske leksikon
- “C (Tone)” in Store norske leksikon
- “C (Mynter)” in Store norske leksikon
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (phoneme; before a, o, u and other consonants) IPA(key): /k/
- (phoneme; before e and i) IPA(key): /s/
- (letter name) IPA(key): /ˈse/
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
See also
Romagnol
Letter
c f or m (invariable, lower case, upper case C)
Romani
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /t͡s/
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
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).
References
- Yūsuke Sumi (2018), “C, c”, in ニューエクスプレス ロマ(ジプシー)語 [New Express Romani (Gypsy)] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Hakusuisha, →ISBN, page 13
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /k/, /tʃ/
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Usage notes
See C for pronunciation notes.
Skolt Sami
Pronunciation
- (phoneme) IPA(key): /t͡s/
Slovene
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Gaj's Latin alphabet c, from Czech alphabet c, from latin c, which is a modification of upper case letter C, from Etruscan 𐌂 (c), from Ancient Greek Γ (G, “Gamma”), from Phoenician 𐤂 (g, “gimel”). Pronunciation as IPA(key): /cə/ is initial Slovene (phoneme plus a fill vowel) and the second pronunciation is probably taken from German c.
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /t͡s/, [d͡z]
- (letter name): IPA(key): /t͡sə́/, /t͡sèː/, /t͡séː/
Audio (letter name, non-tonal) (file) - Rhymes: -ə, -eː
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Noun
c m inan
Inflection
- Overall more common
Masculine inan., soft o-stem | |||
---|---|---|---|
nom. sing. | c | ||
gen. sing. | c-ja | ||
singular | dual | plural | |
nominative (imenovȃlnik) |
c | c-ja | c-ji |
genitive (rodȋlnik) |
c-ja | c-jev | c-jev |
dative (dajȃlnik) |
c-ju | c-jema | c-jem |
accusative (tožȋlnik) |
c | c-ja | c-je |
locative (mẹ̑stnik) |
c-ju | c-jih | c-jih |
instrumental (orọ̑dnik) |
c-jem | c-jema | c-ji |
- More common when with a definite adjective
Masculine inan., no endings | |||
---|---|---|---|
nom. sing. | c | ||
gen. sing. | c | ||
singular | dual | plural | |
nominative | c | c | c |
accusative | c | c | c |
genitive | c | c | c |
dative | c | c | c |
locative | c | c | c |
instrumental | c | c | c |
See also
Somali
Letter
c lower case (upper case C)
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (phoneme, Spain) /k/ [k], /θ/ [θ]
- IPA(key): (phoneme, Latin America) /k/ [k], /s/ [s]
- IPA(key): (letter name, Spain) /ˈθe/ [ˈθe]
- IPA(key): (letter name, Latin America) /ˈse/ [ˈse]
- (Castilian)
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -e
- (Castilian)
Swedish
Etymology 1
See the etymology at #Translingual.
Pronunciation
- (letter name): IPA(key): /seː/
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /s/, /k/
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /seː/
Tagalog
Pronunciation
- As letter
- IPA(key): /ˈse/, [ˈse] (in the Abecedario)
- IPA(key): /si/, [sɪ] (in the modern Filipino alphabet)
- As phoneme
- IPA(key): /k/, [k] (generally before /a/, /o/ and /u/, in Spanish-based spellings, proper nouns and unadapted loanwords)
- IPA(key): /s/, [s] (generally before /e/ and /i/, in proper nouns and unadapted loanwords)
Letter
c (upper case C)
Etymology 2
From English c (cee), homophonous to si.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /si/, [sɪ]
Turkish
Pronunciation
- (phoneme): IPA(key): /d͡ʒ/
- (letter name): IPA(key): /d͡ʒeː/
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Welsh
Pronunciation
- (standard) IPA(key): /ɛk/
- (informal) IPA(key): /kə/
Letter
c (lower case, upper case C)
Mutation
- c at the beginning of words mutates to g in a soft mutation, to ngh in a nasal mutation and to ch in an aspirate mutation, for example with the word cath (“cat”):
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
cath | gath | nghath | chath |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
See also
- (Latin-script letters) llythyren; A a (Á á, À à, Â â, Ä ä), B b, C c, Ch ch, D d, Dd dd, E e (É é, È è, Ê ê, Ë ë), F f, Ff ff, G g, Ng ng, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Î î, Ï ï), J j, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ô ô, Ö ö), P p, Ph ph, R r, Rh rh, S s, T t, Th th, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Û û, Ü ü), W w (Ẃ ẃ, Ẁ ẁ, Ŵ ŵ, Ẅ ẅ), Y y (Ý ý, Ỳ ỳ, Ŷ ŷ, Ÿ ÿ)
Further reading
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), chapter C, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies