kif
/kiːf/
"kif" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“kif” is uncommon English (frequency #80,596 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #80,596
- frequency rank, English
- 1,236
- “K” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A kind of cannabis smoked in Morocco and Algeria, for narcotic or intoxicating effect.
Corpus desk
Index EN-kif · kif · English
kif · rank #80,596 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #80,596
- LEN-MID 3 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,236
- PHOTO-FINISH Kennelly
Nearest frequency peer: Kennelly (-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 “kif”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- Karman
Karman
19,410 corpus weight
- kartel
kartel
19,409 corpus weight
- Kennelly
Kennelly
19,406 corpus weight
- kif
kif
19,405 corpus weight
- Krabi
Krabi
19,402 corpus weight
- Kur
Kur
19,400 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “kif” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | kif |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kiːf/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #80,596 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “kif” in English
Rare enough to double-check
kif is uncommon English at frequency #80,596 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /kiːf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for kif in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Moroccan Arabic كيف (kīf, “opiate”), from Arabic كَيْف (kayf, “joy”). The correct English form is kif, spelled K-I-F.
Definition
- 1A kind of cannabis smoked in Morocco and Algeria, for narcotic or intoxicating effect.
- 2The state of relaxed stupor induced by cannabis.
- 3The trichome of marijuana, a green powdery substance that falls from dry marijuana, high in THC and other cannabinoid compounds.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how kif appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The kief, which is the flower and seeds of the plant, is the strongest, and a pipe of it half the size of a common English tobacco-pipe, is sufficient to intoxicate.
I perceived the odour of kif, and recognised the voices of Selam the Second, Abd-el-Rhaman, and others; it was an Arab orgie in full swing.
Etymology
From Moroccan Arabic كيف (kīf, “opiate”), from Arabic كَيْف (kayf, “joy”).
This word in other languages
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
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "kif", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).