qui

[ki]

/[ki]/ pron

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“qui” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #18,668 in German word frequency and used as a pronoun.

#18,668
frequency rank, German
3
letters
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - der, die, das; wer, was

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

qui vs quo
67% similar
qui vs Quiz
50% similar
qui vs quick
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for qui
PropertyValue
Headwordqui
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPronoun
IPA[ki]
Letters3
Frequency rank#18,668
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “qui” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). qui lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for qui is 3 letters long, classified as a pronoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ki]. Corpus data places it at rank #18,668 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for qui, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "quo", "Quiz", "quick", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is qui, spelled Q-U-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    der, die, das; wer, was
  2. 2
    dessen/dem/den, deren/der/die, dessen/dem/das; wessen, wem, wen

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "qui"?
"qui" is spelled Q-U-I. The IPA pronunciation is [ki].
What does "qui" mean?
As a pronoun, "qui" means: der, die, das; wer, was
What words are commonly confused with "qui"?
"qui" is commonly confused with "quo", "Quiz", "quick". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "qui"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "qui" is [ki]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "qui" come from?
"qui" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “qui”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is Q-U-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ki] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “quo” - see the side-by-side comparison. qui vs quo
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list