K is the eleventh letter of the alphabet and the eighth consonant. Its occurrence is extremely low in the Spanish language, only appearing in words of foreign origin. In fact, it is one of the three least frequent letters in Spanish, according to the Real Academia Española.
¿Puedes comprar un kilo de duraznos en el mercado?
Can you buy a kilo of peaches at the market?Los koalas son originarios de Australia.
Koalas are native to Australia.
The letter K may appear in initial, middle, or final position in the word:
- Words starting with K: kerosén (kerosene), kimono (kimono), kermés (bazaar).
- Words with K in them: bikini (bikini), sudoku (sudoku), búnker (bunker).
- Words ending in K: rock (rock), punk (punk), wok (wok).
Pronunciation tip: The Spanish letter K is pronounced much like the English /k/ in “kilo”, though softer. Unlike its English counterpart, Spanish /k/ is not such a hard plosive, that is, the body of the tongue hits against the palate not as strongly as in English, releasing less air to pronounce it, which makes it a softer sound:
- See also: Words with C
Spanish nouns that start with K
| kilómetro kilometer | kung-fu kung fu | káiser kaiser |
| kilogramo kilogram | karma karma | kinesiólogo physical therapist |
| kétchup ketchup | koala koala | kamikaze kamikaze |
| karaoke karaoke | kale kale | kéfir kefir |
| kinesiología physical therapy | kebab kebab | kelvin kelvin |
| karate karate | krill krill | kibutz kibbutz |
| kiosco kiosk | Kuwait Kuwait | Kosovo Kosovo |
| kit kit | Kazajistán Kazakhstan | kipá kippah |
| kimono kimono | Katmandú Kathmandu | kiosquero news vendor |
| kaki kaki | kilovoltio kilowatt | kiko toasted corn |
Llevaré un kit de viaje pequeño con artículos de tocador.
I will take a small travel kit with toiletries.El kilómetro es la unidad de distancia en todos los países de habla hispana.
The kilometer is the unit for distance in all Spanish-speaking countries.Tras quebrase el brazo, Juan necesitó sesiones de kinesiología.
After breaking his arm, Juan needed physical therapy sessions.¿Quieres salir a cenar kebab esta noche?
Do you want to go out for kebab tonight?
- See also: Spanish nouns
Spanish adjectives that start with K
| kitsch kitsch | kuwaití Kuwaiti | kazajo Kazakh |
| kilométrico endless, miles long | kosher kosher | kamikaze kamikaze |
| kafkiano Kafkaesque | kurdo Kurdish | kinesioterápico physiotherapeutic |
| kaki khaki | kantiano Kantian | keniata Kenyan |
| kinesiológico physiotherapeutic | kosovar Kosovar | kármico karmic |
La decoración de mi tía es extravagante y un poco kitsch.
My aunt's decor is quirky and a bit kitschy.El corredor keniata fue el primero en llegar a la meta.
The Kenyan runner was the first to reach the finish line.Este argumento no tiene sentido; es completamente kafkiano.
This plot makes no sense; it is completely Kafkaesque.Me compré una linda camisa color kaki.
I bought myself a nice khaki shirt.
- See also: Spanish adjectives
Spanish verbs with K in them
| kilometrar to measure in kilometers | rockear to rock | crackear to crack (decipher) |
| hackear to hack | shockear to shock | stockear to stock |
| lookear to groom | stalkear to stalk | trackear to track |
Me shockeó la noticia de las inundaciones en España.
I was shocked by the news about the floods in Spain.No me gusta que me stalkees en mis redes.
I don't like you stalking me on my social networks.Este camino es un desastre; no está ni señalizado ni kilometrado.
This road is a disaster; it is neither signposted nor marked.Se intentó trackear sin éxito dónde estaba la droga.
An unsuccessful attempt was made to track where the drug was.
*While all the above verbs are of widespread use across Spanish-speaking countries, the only one accepted by the Real Academia Española is kilometrar.
- See also: Spanish verbs
Spanish words with K in them
| Alaska Alaska | Pakistán Pakistan | parking parking |
| eureka eureka | sake sake | Uzbekistán Uzbekistan |
| vikingo Viking | aikido aikido | vodka vodka |
| folklore folklore | Dakar Dakar | Nagasaki Nagasaki |
| hockey hockey | valkiria Valkyrie | parkour parkour |
| ukelele ukelele | marketing marketing | speaker speaker |
| páprika paprika | bróker broker | sudoku sudoku |
| búnker bunker | pekinés Peking | chakra chakra |
| bikini bikini | burka burka | Fukushima Fukushima |
| Tokio Tokyo | ranking ranking | Osaka Osaka |
Spanish words ending in K
| kayak kayak | stock stock | ciberpunk cyberpunk |
| anorak anorak | look look | playback playback |
| wok wok | nobuk nobuck | yak yak (wild animal of Tibet) |
| rock rock | Bangkok Bangkok | cuark quark (elementary particle) |
| punk punk | blackjack blackjack | kopek kopeck (subunit of the ruble) |
| folk folk | Minsk Minsk | mujik mujik (Russian peasant) |
| funk funk | Irak Iraq | batik batik (Indonesian fabric) |
| flashback flashback | crack crack | snack bar snack bar |
K, Q or C? Spelling tips
The letter K (and not q or c) is written in:
- Loanwords and Spanish words that have been adapted from them, including proper names: Karen, Kevin, kimono.
- All words containing kilo-, kinesio-, -kinesia: kilovatio (kilowatt), telekinesia (telekinesis), kinesiología (physical therapy).
Conversely, c and q are mostly reserved for words of Spanish origin:
- The letter c is written before all the vowels and certain consonants. It is pronounced /k/ when it appears before a, o, u, or some consonants: casa (house), corto (short), cueva (cave), clavel (carnation). When used before e or i, it is pronounced /s/: ceniza (ash), ciervo (deer).
- The letter q is always written as part of the digraph qu, only appearing before e and i. It is always pronounced /k/: qué (what), queso (cheese), quizás (perhaps).
You may also like:
Practice: Spanish words with K
References
- Wordreference.com, “caracoles,” accessed November 1, 2024, https://www.wordreference.com/
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary, accessed October 31, 2024, under “kung fu,” https://www.merriam-webster.com/
- Real Academia Española, Fundéu RAE, under “La letra más usada, la palabra más larga y otras curiosidades del español,” accessed October 31, 2024, https://www.fundeu.es/
- Enciclopedia del Lenguaje, “Palabras con C,” by Carla Giani. Last updated October 25, 2024, https://lenguaje.com/
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