k
/keɪ/letter, number, noun, interjection
k is spelled K: one letter and one syllable. It appears 81 times per million words in written English, the 1,302nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a letter, k means “The eleventh letter of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in k?
| Letters | 1: K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 81 times per million words; the 1,302nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is k?
K appears 81 times per million words in written English, the 1,302nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce k?
- /keɪ/
- /k/
K has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-k.ogg, En-uk-k.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of k
- ks plural
- k's plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does k mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
letter
- 1
The eleventh letter of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.
- 2
The first letter of callsigns allocated to American broadcast television and radio stations west of the Mississippi river.
number
- 1
The eleventh numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.
noun
- 1
A kilobyte (more formally KB or kB).
- 2
A kilobit (more formally kb), especially in measuring Internet connection.
- 3
colloquialkilometre or kilometres.
We drove 15 ks before we realised Billy wasn't in the back seat.
- 4
colloquialthousand or thousands.
Just about 65 k of Jack's full salary comes from servicing the Baker account.
- 5
The SI measurement value of 1,000
interjection
- 1
colloquialOK
letter
- 1
The eleventh letter of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.
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).
number
- 1
The eleventh numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called kay and written in the Latin script.
noun
- 1
informalAbbreviation of contract.
- 2
USAbbreviation of kindergarten.
"K-8" is Kindergarten through eighth grade.
- 3
Abbreviation of kilo-, 1,000 or 1,024.
5k = 5,000
- 4
A single character message used as an acknowledgement (ACK), meaning "previous message received and understood."
- 5
Abbreviation of go ahead, over, an indication that a message is complete and a reply is awaited.
- 6
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.
- 7
Abbreviation of king.
- 8
Abbreviation of carrying capacity.
interjection
- 1
colloquialOK
symbol
- 1
Indicates the Scottish or unassimilated German /x/ – e.g. \lôk͟h\ for loch or \bâk͟h\ for Bach.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
K in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense playing card:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | R |
| German | K (König) |
| Portuguese | R (rei) |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.