q
/kjuː/letter, number, noun, determiner
q is spelled Q: one letter and one syllable. It appears 36 times per million words in written English, the 2,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a letter, q means “The seventeenth letter of the English alphabet, called cue and written in the Latin script” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in q?
| Letters | 1: Q |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 36 times per million words; the 2,669th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is q?
Q appears 36 times per million words in written English, the 2,669th 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 q?
- /kjuː/
- /k/
- /kw/
Q 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-q.ogg, En-uk-q.ogg, En-us-queue.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with q
Sounds like: cue, queue (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with q?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as q from its last stressed vowel (/u/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of q
- qs plural
- q's plural
- 'q
- 'qs plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does q mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
letter
- 1
The seventeenth letter of the English alphabet, called cue and written in the Latin script.
number
- 1
The seventeenth numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called cue and written in the Latin script.
determiner
- 1
Each, every (with a time interval).
letter
- 1
The seventeenth letter of the English alphabet, called cue and written in the Latin script.
number
- 1
The seventeenth numeral symbol of the English alphabet, called cue and written in the Latin script.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of question or questions.
Q and A
- 2
Abbreviation of quarter.
- 3
UKslangA quarter ounce of a drug.
- 4
Ellipsis of Q factor (“quality factor”).
- 5
Abbreviation of quasar.
- 6
Abbreviation of qualified.
- 7
American Library Association abbreviation of quarto (“book size”).
- 8
Abbreviation of queen.
- 9
slangA gadget master, gadget creator.
noun
- 1
Abbreviation of non-automatic qualification, indicating an athlete who qualifies to the next round either by time as a fastest loser (in track events) or by position without achieving the qualifying target (in field events).
- 2
Abbreviation of question.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Q in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense playing card:
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.