kie

/kaɪ/

//kaɪ// noun

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

"kie" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“kie” is uncommon English (frequency #91,699 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#91,699
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative spelling of kye, plural of cow

Corpus desk

Index EN-kie · kie · English

kie · rank #91,699 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #91,699
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH klansman

Nearest frequency peer: klansman (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “kie”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “kie” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for kie
PropertyValue
Headwordkie
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kaɪ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#91,699
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “kie” in English

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

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “klansman” (#91,700), “Khwaja” (#91,696), “Koivu” (#91,703). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “kie” is #91,699. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

kie is uncommon English at frequency #91,699 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kaɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative spelling of kye, plural of cow".

No misspelling variants are generated for kie in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ky, from Old English cȳ (“cows”), plural of cū (“cow”). The correct English form is kie, spelled K-I-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative spelling of kye, plural of cow

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how kie appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. And if thou zawest any kie come royling through this grounde, Or driven away, tell what he was and where they may be vownde.

Etymology

From Middle English ky, from Old English cȳ (“cows”), plural of cū (“cow”).

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kie"?
"kie" is spelled K-I-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kaɪ/.
What does "kie" mean?
As a noun, "kie" means: Alternative spelling of kye, plural of cow
How do you pronounce "kie"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "kie" is /kaɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "kie"?
From Middle English ky, from Old English cȳ (“cows”), plural of cū (“cow”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "kie", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

kys#91,712LBM#91,730LBR#91,731jel#91,659

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list