key

[kiː]

/[kiː]/ noun

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

The verdict

“key” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #18,292) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#18,292
frequency rank, Spanish
248
“K” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Llave.

Corpus desk

Index ES-key · key · Spanish

key · rank #18,292 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,292
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 248
  • PHOTO-FINISH kane

Nearest frequency peer: kane (-1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “key”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “key” sits against the nearest ranked Spanish headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

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)

Dónde se sitúa “key” en la frecuencia del español

De izquierda a derecha: las pocas palabras que cargan el habla diaria, luego la cola larga casi invisible.keycae aquí:

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

Los ticks avanzan en logaritmo; cada uno es del orden de diez veces más raro. En la misma franja de rareza aparecen “kane” (#18,291), “kid” (#18,293), “lactancia” (#18,294). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for key is neighbouring look-alikes ("km", "kg", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [kiː]. Frequency #18,292 among 248 “K” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. Dr. Marion seems to be the key to this puzzle!

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.

Similar Spanish words by spelling shape

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

Same letter count

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

kid#18,293hmm#18,274Eve#18,248ren#18,376

What to do next

You've looked up "key". Here's where to go from here.

  • "key" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "km". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #18,292 among Spanish headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more Spanish words in the "K" letter cohort. K–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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