kgvskuWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: kg is a symbol, ku is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“kg” is a symbol and “ku” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,770
“kg” frequency rank
#22,917
“ku” frequency rank
26687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kg ku
Definition Symbole du kilogramme, unité de mesure de masse du Système international (SI), valant 10³ grammes. Lettre latine Q, q.

Letter map: kg vs ku

Shared letters muted; letters that set kg and ku apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

2 ch
kg
2 ch
ku

Grammar separator: kg vs ku

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: kg is asymbol and kuanoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - g in “kg” becomes u in “ku”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26687, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kg is recorded at frequency rank #3,770, classified as asymbol. ku is at rank #22,917, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ky\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 26687, this pair ranks #333,454 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kg vs ku

Shared letters: k. Private to "kg": g. Private to "ku": u.

"kg" · 2 letters · shape CC  ·  "ku" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "kg" for "ku" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kg" is a symbol and "ku" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "kg" vs "ku" - which ranks higher?
"kg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,770 in our French list, against #22,917 for "ku". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "kg" vs "ku" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ku" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #333,454 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kg" and "ku" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ku vs ky". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #333,454 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list