The Letter K

In this lesson, we will learn about all the sounds of the letter K. It is the eleventh letter of the English alphabet.

K is the eleventh letter of the English alphabet. It is a consonant too.

Consonants are the letters that are produced by stopping the letter from flowing easily.

Uppercase Form	K
Lowercase	k
Name	kay (pronounced /ˈkeɪ/)
Main Sound	/k/, /Ø/

Pie Chart of 'k' Pronunciation in American English

The Letter K: Sounds

The letter K has two sounds.

Sound 1: /k/

K generally sounds /k/:

kayak /ˈkaɪæk/

book /bʊk/

bike /baɪk/

Sound 2: /Ø/

'kn' sounds /n/, so K is silent:

knight /naɪt/

knee /niː/

know /noʊ/

The Letter K: Multigraphs

Letter K can also appear in combinations with other letters (mainly consonants).

ck

'ck' together sounds /k/:

duck /dʌk/

back /bæk/

lock /lɑk/

nk

'nk' after a vowel sounds /ŋk/:

think /θɪŋk/

drink /drɪŋk/

spank /spæŋk/

The Letter K: Uses

K can be used as:
• The abbreviation of kilometer or kilometers or thousand or thousands in colloquial language
• The abbreviation of OK in text messaging or internet slang

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- Sound 1: /k/
- Sound 2: /Ø/
- ck
- nk
The Letter K: Uses

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