Pronunciation of K

Start first lesson

1. Lesson 1

14 questions

2. Lesson 2

11 questions

3. Lesson 3

11 questions

Explanation

Quick Answer

The Spanish letter k is pronounced like the English k in kiss, but without any aspiration. For example, listen to how the k is pronounced in karate(karate) or kilo(kilo).

The Sound of the Letter "K"

"K" Is a Consonant

The letter k represents the Spanish consonant sound, or phoneme, /k/. The name of this letter is pronounced ka.

How to Pronounce "K" in Spanish

The sound of the Spanish k is pronounced by pressing the back of the tongue against the soft palate. This stops the flow of air completely for an instant, and then the air is let out abruptly.

Is the Spanish "K" Similar to the English "K"?

Yes, it's very similar, but without any trace of aspiration! Compare, for example, the k sound in the English word bikini and the k sound in its Spanish translation, bikini. It is also very similar to the English c in car or the q in queen.

Remember that aspiration is the sound of air being exhaled after certain letters.

Apart from the letter k, the sound /k/ in Spanish is also represented by the letter c and the letter group qu.

The letter k is used mostly in words taken, or adapted from, a wide range of other languages. Some examples of these loanwords and their language of origin include German búnker, bunker), French anorak, anorak), Russian vodka, vodka), or Japanese karaoke, karaoke).

When taking loanwords from other languages, their spelling is frequently adapted to what would be considered a more “natural” spelling of the word in Spanish. For example, the “k” is often replaced with a Spanish c or qu, such as in folclore(as well as folkloreor quimono(as well as kimono.

Examples

Let’s look at some examples of words containing the letter k in different word positions and letter combinations.

Spanish	English	Position-Combination
kiosco	kiosk	beginning of word + vowel
koala	koala	beginning of word + vowel
Kremlin	Kremlin	beginning of word + consonant
kriptón	krypton	beginning of word + consonant
paprika	paprika	inside word + between vowels
ukelele	ukulele	inside word + between vowels
vikingo	Viking	inside word + between vowels
Alaska	Alaska	inside word + beginning of syllable
burka	burka	inside word + beginning of syllable
euskaldún	Basque-speaking	inside word + beginning of syllable
Kafka	Kafka	inside word + beginning of syllable
parka	parka	inside word + beginning of syllable
folk	folk music	end of word
kayak	kayak	end of word

One Letter, One Sound

The pronunciation of the letter k does not vary much across the Hispanic world, so there shouldn’t be a big difference between the way Kiko(a nickname for Francisco) is pronounced in Cali, Los Angeles, or Bilbao.