key

[kiː]

/[kiː]/ noun

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

The verdict

“key” is a moderately-common Spanish word, ranked #18,292 in Spanish word frequency and used as a noun.

#18,292
frequency rank, Spanish
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Llave.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

key vs km
33% similar
key vs kg
33% similar
key vs ki
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for key
PropertyValue
Headwordkey
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[kiː]
Letters3
Frequency rank#18,292
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “key” sits in Spanish frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for key is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [kiː]. Corpus data places it at rank #18,292 in overall Spanish word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

key doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "km", "kg", "ki", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct Spanish form is key, spelled K-E-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Llave.
  2. 2
    Clave.
  3. 3
    Tecla.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "key"?
"key" is spelled K-E-Y. The IPA pronunciation is [kiː].
What does "key" mean?
As a noun, "key" means: Llave.
What words are commonly confused with "key"?
"key" is commonly confused with "km", "kg", "ki". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "key"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "key" is [kiː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "key" come from?
"key" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “key”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is K-E-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [kiː] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “km” - see the side-by-side comparison. key vs km
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list