kappa
/ˈkæpə/noun
kappa is spelled K-A-P-P-A: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kappa means “The tenth letter of the Greek alphabet” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kappa is kappas.
How many letters and syllables are in kappa?
| Letters | 5: K-A-P-P-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.9 times per million words; the 15,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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 kappa?
Kappa appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th 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 kappa?
- /ˈkæpə/
Kappa has 2 syllables (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-kappa.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-NaomiAmethyst-Kappa.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-Kappa.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with kappa
Sounds like: cappa (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of kappa
- kappas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kappa mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The tenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
- 2
A measurement of the sensitivity of the value of an option to changes in the implied volatility of the price of the underlying asset.
- 3
A tortoise-like demon or imp.
noun
- 1
An emote, often used as a postscript, to indicate that the preceding statement is sarcastic or false.
interjection
- 1
Used to indicate sarcasm in imitation of Kappa as used on Twitch.tv
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kappa in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Greek letter:
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.
Where does kappa come from?
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κάππα (káppa), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *kapp- (“palm, hand”). Doublet of kaph.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).