kW

symbol

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

The verdict

“kW” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #17,985 in French word frequency and used as a symbol.

#17,985
frequency rank, French
2
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Symbole du kilowatt, unité de mesure de puissance du Système international (SI), valant 10³ watts.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

kW vs ky
50% similar
kW vs kWh
67% similar
kW vs kwon
25% similar

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

Key facts for kW
PropertyValue
HeadwordkW
LanguageFrench
Part of speechSymbol
Letters2
Frequency rank#17,985
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “kW” sits in French 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). kW 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 French entry for kW is 2 letters long, classified as a symbol. Corpus data places it at rank #17,985 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Symbole du kilowatt, unité de mesure de puissance du Système international (SI), valant 10³ watts.".

Zero misspellings are on record for kW in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ky", "kWh", "kwon", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is kW, spelled K-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Symbole du kilowatt, unité de mesure de puissance du Système international (SI), valant 10³ watts.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "kW"?
"kW" is spelled K-W.
What does "kW" mean?
As a symbol, "kW" means: Symbole du kilowatt, unité de mesure de puissance du Système international (SI), valant 10³ watts.
What words are commonly confused with "kW"?
"kW" is commonly confused with "ky", "kWh", "kwon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "kW" come from?
"kW" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “kW”

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

  • The one correct French spelling is K-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Don't mix it up with “ky” - see the side-by-side comparison. kW vs ky
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French 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