kivskmConfusable pair

Quick tell: ki is a pronoun, km is a symbol, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ki” is a pronoun and “km” is a symbol - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,569
“ki” frequency rank
#1,030
“km” frequency rank
9599
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ki km
Definition Variante orthographique de qui. Symbole du kilomètre, unité de mesure de longueur du Système international (SI), valant 1000 mètres (10³ mètres).

Letter map: ki vs km

Shared letters muted; letters that set ki and km apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

2 ch
ki
2 ch
km

Role in the sentence - ki and km

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ki is apronoun and kmasymbol. On the page they differ by a single letter - i in “ki” becomes m in “km”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9599, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ki is recorded at frequency rank #8,569, classified as apron, pronounced \ki\. km is at rank #1,030, tagged as asymbol.

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 9599, this pair ranks #416,087 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ki vs km

Shared letters: k. Private to "ki": i. Private to "km": m.

"ki" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "km" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ki" and "km" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ki" is a pronoun and "km" a symbol, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ki" or "km"?
"km" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,030 in our French list, against #8,569 for "ki". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "ki" vs "km" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ki" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "km" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #416,087 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ki" and "km" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ki vs ky". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #416,087 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