View source for K

{{About|the letter of the alphabet}}
{{Short description|Eleventh letter of the Latin alphabet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Infobox grapheme
|name=K
|letter=K k
|script=[[Latin script]]
|type=[[Alphabet]]
|typedesc=ic and [[Logographic]]
|language=[[Latin ]]language
|phonemes={{flex list|[{{IPAlink|k}}]|[{{IPAlink|kʰ}}]|[{{IPAlink|kʼ}}]|[{{IPAlink|ɡ}}]|[{{IPAlink|c}}]}}
|unicode=U+004B, U+006B
|alphanumber=11
|number=
|fam1=<hiero>D46</hiero>
|fam2=[[Image:Proto-semiticK-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Khof]]
|fam3=[[File:Protokaf.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Kaph]]
|fam4=[[Image:phoenician kaph.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Kaph]]
|fam5={{not a typo|[[Cappa|Κ κ ϰ]]}}
|fam6=[[𐌊]]
|usageperiod=  {{circa}} 700 BCE to present
|children={{flex list|K|[[Ʞ]]|[[₭]]}}
|sisters={{flex list|[[К]]|[[Kaph|כ]]|[[Kaph|ך]]|[[Kaph|ک]]|[[Kaph|ك]]|[[Kaph|ܟ]]|[[ࠊ]]|[[𐎋]]|[[ከ]]|[[wikt:Կ|Կ]]|[[wikt:կ|կ]]|[[wikt:Հ|Հ]]|[[wikt:հ|հ]]|[[wikt:Խ|Խ]]|[[wikt:խ|խ]]}}
|equivalents=
|associates=[[List of Latin-script digraphs|k(x)]]
|direction=Left-to-right
|image=File:Latin_letter_K.svg
|imageclass=skin-invert-image
}}
{{Latin letter info|k}}

'''K''' ([[Letter case|minuscule]]: '''k''') is the eleventh [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] of the [[Latin alphabet]], used in the [[English alphabet|modern English alphabet]], the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is [[English alphabet#Letter names|''kay'']] (pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|k|eɪ|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-K.wav}}), plural ''kays''.<ref>"K" ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' 2nd edition (1989); [[Webster's Dictionary|''Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'']] (1993); "kay," op. cit.</ref>

The letter K usually represents the [[voiceless velar plosive]].

== History ==
{| class="wikitable"
! [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian <br />hieroglyph]] D
! [[Proto-Sinaitic script|Proto-Sinaitic]] <br />K
! [[Proto-Canaanite alphabet|Proto-Canaanite]]<br>kap
! [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] <br />kaph
! [[Western Greek alphabet|Western Greek]]<br />[[Kappa]]
! [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]]<br/>K
! [[Latin]]<br>K
|--- align=center
|<hiero>d</hiero>
| [[File:Proto-semiticK-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|25px]]
| [[File:Protokaf.svg|class=skin-invert-image|25px]]
| [[File:PhoenicianK-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|25px]]
| [[File:Greek Kappa normal.svg|class=skin-invert-image|40px]]
| [[File:EtruscanK-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|25px]]
| [[File:Capitalis monumentalis K.SVG|class=skin-invert-image|x30px|Latin K]]
|}

The letter K comes from the [[Greek letter]] Κ ([[kappa]]), which was taken from the [[Semitic alphabets| west Semitic]] [[kaph]], the symbol for an open hand.<ref name="OED">[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50124982?query_type=word&queryword=k&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=1&search_id=h5Sx-nTaC9b-24269&hilite=50124982 "K". ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd ed., 1977, online]{{registration required}}{{dead link|date=September 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> This, in turn, was likely adapted by [[Semitic people|Semitic tribes]] who had lived in Egypt from the hieroglyph for [[hand (hieroglyph)|"hand" representing /ḏ/]] in the Egyptian word for hand, ⟨[[wikt:ḏrt|ḏ-r-t]]⟩ (likely pronounced {{IPA|/ˈcʼaːɾat/}} in [[Egyptian language|Old Egyptian]]). The Levantine Semites evidently assigned it the sound value {{IPA|/k/}} instead, because their word for hand started with that sound, similar to the Hebrew word for the palm of the hand "caph".<ref>{{cite journal |first=Cyrus H. |last=Gordon|title=The Accidental Invention of the Phonemic Alphabet|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=29|issue=3|pages=193–197|jstor=543451|doi=10.1086/372069 |year=1970|s2cid=161870047}}</ref>

K was brought into the Latin alphabet with the name ''ka'' /kaː/ to differentiate it from C, named ''ce'' (pronounced /keː/) and Q, named ''qu'' and pronounced /kuː/. In the earliest [[Latin]] inscriptions, the letters C, K and Q were all used to represent the sounds {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}} (which were not differentiated in writing). Of these, Q was used before a rounded vowel (e.g. {{angbr|EQO}} 'ego'), K before /a/ (e.g. {{angbr|KALENDIS}} 'calendis'), and C elsewhere. Later, the use of C and its variant G replaced most usages of K and Q. K survived only in a few fossilized forms, such as ''Kalendae'', "the [[calends]]".<ref>{{cite book |title=New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin |first=Andrew L. |last=Sihler |edition=illustrated |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1995 |location=New York |isbn=0-19-508345-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IeHmqKY2BqoC |page=21 |access-date=2016-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109231225/https://books.google.com/books?id=IeHmqKY2BqoC |archive-date=2016-11-09 |url-status=live }}</ref>

After [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] words were taken into Latin, the kappa was transliterated as a C. Loanwords from other alphabets with the sound {{IPA|/k/}} were also transliterated with C. Hence, the [[Romance languages]] generally use C, in imitating Classical Latin's practice, and have K only in later loanwords from other language groups. The [[Celtic languages]] also tended to use C instead of K, and this influence carried over into [[Old English]].

== Use in writing systems ==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+ Pronunciation of {{angbr|k}} by language
! [[Orthography]]
! [[Phoneme|Phonemes]]
! Environment
|-
! {{nwr|[[Standard Chinese]] ([[Pinyin]])}}
|{{IPAslink|kʰ}}
|
|-
! [[English orthography|English]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}, ''silent''
|
|-
! [[Esperanto orthography|Esperanto]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Faroese orthography|Faroese]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|
|-
|{{IPAslink|tʃʰ}}
|Before {{angbr|e}} (except {{angbr|ei}}), {{angbr|i}}, and {{angbr|j}}
|-
! [[German orthography|German]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|
|-
! [[Ancient Greek]] [[Romanization of Greek|romanization]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Modern Greek]] [[Romanization of Greek|romanization]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|Except before {{IPA|/e, i/}}
|-
|{{IPAslink|c}}
|Before {{IPA|/e, i/}}
|-
! [[Icelandic orthography|Icelandic]]
|{{IPAslink|kʰ}}, {{IPAslink|cʰ}}, {{IPAslink|k}}, {{IPAslink|c}}, {{IPAslink|ʰk}}, {{IPAslink|x}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Norwegian orthography|Norwegian]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|Except before {{angbr|i}} or {{angbr|y}}
|-
|{{IPAslink|ç}}
|Before {{angbr|i}} or {{angbr|y}}
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Swedish orthography|Swedish]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|
|-
|{{IPAslink|ɕ}}
|Before {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|y}}, {{angbr|y}}, {{angbr|ä}}, {{angbr|ö}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Turkish alphabet|Turkish]]
|{{IPAslink|k}}
|Except before {{angbr|â}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|ö}}, {{angbr|û}}, {{angbr|ü}}
|-
|{{IPAslink|c}}
|Before {{angbr|â}}, {{angbr|e}}, {{angbr|i}}, {{angbr|ö}}, {{angbr|û}}, {{angbr|ü}}
|}

=== English ===
The letter usually represents {{IPAslink|k}} in English. It is [[Silent k and g|silent]] when it comes before {{angbr|n}} at the start of a [[Word stem|stem]], e.g.:
* At the start of a word (''knight'', ''knife'', ''knot'', ''know'', and ''knee'')
* After a prefix (''unknowable'')
* In compounds (''penknife'')

English is now the only [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]] to productively use "hard" {{angbr|c}} (outside the [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] {{angbr|ck}}) rather than {{angbr|k}} (although [[Dutch language|Dutch]] uses it in loan [[words of Latin origin]], and the [[pronunciation]] of these words follows the same hard/soft distinction as in English).{{citation needed|reason=There are a lot of Germanic languages; we need to link to a source who states that none of the others use hard C productively|date=October 2015}}

Like [[J]], [[X]], [[Q]], and [[Z]], the letter K is not used very frequently in English. It is the [[Letter frequency|fifth least frequently used letter]] in the English language, with a frequency in words of about 0.8%.

=== Other languages ===
In most languages where it is employed, this letter represents the sound {{IPAslink|k}} (with or without [[Aspiration (linguistics)|aspiration]]) or some similar sound.

The Latinization of [[Modern Greek]] also uses this letter for {{IPAslink|k}}. However, before the front vowels ({{IPA|/e, i/}}), this is rendered as {{IPAblink|c}}, which can be considered a separate [[phoneme]].

=== Other systems ===
The [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] uses {{angbr IPA|k}} for the [[voiceless velar plosive]].

== Other uses ==
{{main article|K (disambiguation)}}
* In the [[International System of Units (SI)]], the [[SI prefix]] for one thousand is '''kilo-''', officially abbreviated as '''k''': for example, prefixed to ''metre''/''meter'' or its abbreviation ''m'', ''kilometre'' or ''km'' signifies a thousand metres. As such, people occasionally represent numbers in a non-standard notation by replacing the last three zeros of the general numeral with '''K''', as in 30K for 30,000.
* "K" replacing "C" in [[satiric misspelling]].
* K is the unit symbol for the [[kelvin]], used to measure [[thermodynamic temperature]] (the degree sign is not used with this symbol).
* K is the [[chemical symbol]] for [[Chemical element|element]] [[potassium]] (from its Latin name {{lang|la|kalium}}).
* A white K in a blue triangle indicates [[Triangle K]] Kosher certification.
* In [[chess notation]], the letter '''K''' represents the King (WK for White King, BK for Black King).
* In [[baseball scorekeeping|baseball scoring]], the letter '''K''' is used to represent a [[strikeout]]. A forwards oriented '''K''' represents a "strikeout swinging"; a backwards oriented K ([[File:Backwards K.svg|class=skin-invert-image|9px]]) represents a "[[strikeout looking]]".
* As an abbreviation for [[OK]], often used in emails and short text messages.
* K is used as a slang term for [[Ketamine]] among recreational drug users.
* In the [[CMYK color model]], '''K''' represents black ink.
* In [[International Morse code]], it is used to mean "[[Voice procedure|over]]".<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://morsecode.scphillips.com/morse.html
|title=International Morse Code
|author=Stephen Phillips
|date=2009-06-04
|access-date=2014-02-10
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212162534/http://morsecode.scphillips.com/morse.html
|archive-date=2014-02-12
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
* In [[fracture mechanics]], ''K'' is used to represent the [[stress intensity factor]].
* In [[physics]], ''k'' usually stands for the [[Boltzmann constant]].
* In [[Politics of Argentina|Argentinian politics]], K is used as a symbol for [[Kirchnerism]].
* [[K (logic)]].
* In the [[United Kingdom]] under the [[Vehicle registration plates of the United Kingdom#1963 to 1982|old system]] (before 2001), a licence plate that begins with "K" for example "K123 XYZ" would correspond to a vehicle registered between August 1, 1992, and July 31, 1993. Again under the old system, a licence plate that ends with "K" for example "ABC 123K" would correspond to a vehicle that was registered between August 1, 1971, and July 31, 1972.
* On [[Idaho license plate county codes|Idaho license plates]], an initial K in the plate number indicates it was issued in [[Kootenai County]].

== Related characters ==
<!-- Please only list characters (symbols in a writing system, but not just convenience code points in Unicode) that are actually related in terms of origin to the letter that is the topic of this article. Characters that merely look subjectively similar need not apply. See [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]] and [[Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources]] before adding more. -->

=== Ancestors, descendants and siblings ===
* 𐤊: [[Phoenician alphabet|Semitic]] letter [[Kaph]], from which the following symbols originally derive:
* {{not a typo|Κ κ/ϰ}}: [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] letter [[kappa]], from which K derives
* К к: [[Cyrillic]] letter [[Ka (Cyrillic)|Ka]], also derived from Kappa
* K with [[diacritic]]s: [[Ƙ|Ƙ ƙ]], [[K with stroke|Ꝁ ꝁ]], [[Ḱ|Ḱ ḱ]], [[Ǩ|Ǩ ǩ]], [[Dot (diacritic)|Ḳ ḳ]], [[Ķ|Ķ ķ]], [[ᶄ]], [[Ⱪ|Ⱪ ⱪ]], [[Macron below|Ḵ ḵ]]
** Ꞣ and ꞣ were used in [[Latvian orthography]] before 1921<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UA720.pdf |title=Latin Extended-D |access-date=2019-03-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325152831/http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/UA720.pdf |archive-date=2019-03-25 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*The [[Uralic Phonetic Alphabet]] uses various forms of the letter K:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf|title=L2/02-141: Uralic Phonetic Alphabet characters for the UCS|date=2002-03-20|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|author-link1=Michael Everson|display-authors=etal|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219081033/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf|archive-date=2018-02-19|url-status=live}}</ref>
**{{Unichar|1D0B|LATIN LETTER SMALL CAPITAL K}}
**{{Unichar|1D37|MODIFIER LETTER CAPITAL K}}
**{{Unichar|1D4F|MODIFIER LETTER SMALL K}}
*{{not a typo|ₖ}}: Subscript small k was used in the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet prior to its formal standardization in 1902.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2009/09028-n3571-upa-additions.pdf|title=L2/09-028: Proposal to encode additional characters for the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet|date=2009-01-27|first1=Klaas|last1=Ruppel|first2=Tero|last2=Aalto|first3=Michael|last3=Everson|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011014359/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2009/09028-n3571-upa-additions.pdf|archive-date=2017-10-11|url-status=live}}</ref>
*Ʞ ʞ: Turned capital and small k were used in transcriptions of the [[Dakota language]] in publications of the American Board of Ethnology in the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12270-n4297-beta-etc.pdf|title=L2/12-270: Proposal for the addition of ten Latin characters to the UCS|date=2012-07-26|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|first2=Denis|last2=Jacquerye|first3=Chris|last3=Lilley|author-link3=Chris Lilley (computer scientist)|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330042809/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12270-n4297-beta-etc.pdf|archive-date=2019-03-30|url-status=live}}</ref> Turned small k was also used for a [[Back-released velar click|velar click]] in the International Phonetic Alphabet but its use was [[Obsolete and nonstandard symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet|withdrawn in 1970]].
*𝼐: Small capital turned k is used as a [[click letter]]<ref name="L220115">{{Cite web|title=L2/20-115R: Unicode request for additional phonetic click letters|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20115r-click-letters.pdf|date=2020-07-10|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Bonny|last2=Sands|access-date=2022-10-12|archive-date=2022-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008020935/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20115r-click-letters.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="L221021" />
*𝼃: Small letter reversed k is used as a [[Voice Quality Symbols|Voice Quality Symbol]] (VoQS)<ref name="L220116">{{Cite web|title=L2/20-116R: Expansion of the extIPA and VoQS|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20116r-ext-ipa-voqs-expansion.pdf|date=2020-07-11|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Martin|last2=Ball|access-date=2022-10-12|archive-date=2020-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024034839/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20116r-ext-ipa-voqs-expansion.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="L221021">{{Cite web|title=L2/21-021: Reference doc numbers for L2/20-266R "Consolidated code chart of proposed phonetic characters" and IPA etc. code point and name changes|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21021-consolidated-ipa.pdf|date=2020-12-07|first=Deborah|last=Anderson|access-date=2022-10-12|archive-date=2021-01-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210108092102/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21021-consolidated-ipa.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Ligatures and abbreviations ===
* ₭ : [[Lao kip]]
* Ꝃ ꝃ, Ꝅ ꝅ : Various forms of K were used for medieval [[scribal abbreviation]]s<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06027-n3027-medieval.pdf|title=L2/06-027: Proposal to add Medievalist characters to the UCS|date=2006-01-30|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|first2=Peter|last2=Baker|first3=António|last3=Emiliano|first4=Florian|last4=Grammel|first5=Odd Einar|last5=Haugen|first6=Diana|last6=Luft|first7=Susana|last7=Pedro|first8=Gerd|last8=Schumacher|first9=Andreas|last9=Stötzner|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919051622/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06027-n3027-medieval.pdf|archive-date=2018-09-19|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{anchor|Codes for computing}}

== Other representations ==
=== Computing <span class="anchor" id="Computing codes"></span> ===
{{charmap
| 004B | 006B | 212A | FF2B | FF4B | name1 = Latin Capital Letter K | name2 =Latin Small Letter K | name3 =Kelvin Sign | name4 = FULLWIDTH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER K | name5 = FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER K
| map1 = [[EBCDIC]] family | map1char1 = D2 | map1char2 = 92
| map2 = [[ASCII]]{{efn|Also for encodings based on ASCII, including the DOS, Windows, ISO-8859 and Macintosh families of encodings.}} | map2char1 = 4B | map2char2 = 6B
}}

=== Other ===

{{Letter other reps
|NATO=Kilo
|Morse=–·–
|Character=K
|Braille=⠅
|fingerspelling=K
}}
{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|K}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|k}}

{{Latin alphabet|K|}}

[[Category:ISO basic Latin letters]]