ko
/ˈkəʊ/noun
ko is spelled K-O: 2 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ko means “A local shape to which the ko rule applies; a ko shape” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ko?
| Letters | 2: K-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.4 times per million words; the 10,680th 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 ko?
Ko appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th 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 ko?
- /ˈkəʊ/
Ko 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ko.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does ko mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A local shape to which the ko rule applies; a ko shape.
Black gets an easy game by just filling the ko.
- 2
ko fight
Black wins the ko easily.
- 3
a stone in a ko in atari, a ko stone
Black recaptures the ko and white has to find another ko threat.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of knock out.
- 2
Abbreviation of kick-off (“the time or manner of start of play”).
verb
- 1
To knock someone out; to render someone unconscious.
Joe KO'd the opposing boxer.
- 2
To start play.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ko in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to knock somebody out:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Portuguese | nocautear |
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 ko come from?
Borrowed from Japanese 劫 (kō).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).