27 Spanish Words That Start With K: Pronunciation And Example Sentences
Truth be told, the Spanish alphabet isn’t as boring and simple as you might think. It’s got some interesting quirks: especially when we talk about some less common letters.
Did you know that the Spanish letter K is one of the least used letters in the language? It’s so rare that it’s mainly found in words of foreign origin. There’s a funny tongue twister about it that’s full of Spanish words that start with K:
“Kiko kiere keso, ¿ké keso kiere Kiko?” (Kiko wants cheese, what cheese does Kiko want?)
You might find this tongue twister a bit tricky, but it’s pretty fun! And do you know what’s even more fun? Learning some important Spanish words that start with K. Let’s get into the mood of learning Spanish words that start with K with a song brought to you by Canta con Jess:
In this blog post, we’ll explore different Spanish words that start with K.
1. Fun facts about the Spanish letter K
We already mentioned that the letter K is one of the least used letters in Spanish. It’s so uncommon that many traditional Spanish dictionaries didn’t even include it until relatively recently!
What about its pronunciation?
‘K‘ is pronounced as /k/ – similar to the ‘k’ in the English word ‘kite’. It has a consistent sound in all contexts, which is at least one thing that makes it easier!
Many of the Spanish words that start with K are loanwords from other languages – particularly English, German, and Japanese.
The Spanish letter K is rarely used in common expressions, but you might hear it in some modern slang or tech-related terms.
Unlike many other letters, ‘K’ never changes with accents in Spanish. So that’s one less thing to worry about!
(If you’re interested in these types of blog posts, you can check Spanish words that start with other uncommon letters like Spanish words that start with W.)
2. Spanish nouns starting with K
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Kilo | Kilogram |
| Karate | Karate |
| Kioskio | Kiosk |
| Kiwi | Kiwi |
| Káiser | Kaiser |
| Kétchup | Ketchup |
| Kimono | Kimono |
| Karma | Karma |
| Kilómetro | Kilometer |
| Karaoke | Karaoke |
In a real-life conversation, using these Spanish words that start with K could sound like this:
María: Hola Carlos, ¿has visto el nuevo kiosko en el parque? Venden unos kiwis deliciosos. (María: Hi Carlos, have you seen the new kiosk in the park? They sell delicious kiwis.)
Carlos: No, aún no. Estaba ocupado practicando karate. ¿Sabes qué? Compré un kimono nuevo para las clases. (Carlos: No, not yet. I was busy practicing karate. You know what? I bought a new kimono for the classes.)
María: ¡Qué cool! Deberíamos ir al karaoke para celebrar tu nuevo hobby. (María: How cool! We should go to karaoke to celebrate your new hobby.)
3. Verbs starting with K in Spanish
There aren’t many Spanish verbs that start with K, so we’ll include only the ones that we could think of immediately:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Kikiriquear | To crow (like a rooster) |
| Karatekar | To practice karate |
| Kayakear | To kayak |
Let’s see how these verbs act in Spanish conversations:
Lucía: Pedro, ¿quieres ir a kayakear este fin de semana? (Lucía: Pedro, do you want to go kayaking this weekend?)
Pedro: Me encantaría, pero voy a karatekear. Estoy enfocando toda mi energía en eso ahora. (Pedro: I’d love to, but I’m going to practice karate. I’m focusing all my energy on that now.)
Lucía: Entiendo. Es importante no bloquear nuevas experiencias, pero también hay que marcar prioridades. (Lucía: I understand. It’s important not to block new experiences, but you also have to set priorities.)
4. Spanish adverbs and expressions with K
Since there aren’t many adverbs starting with K in Spanish, let’s look at some expressions that are full of Ks:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| KO (Knock Out) | Knocked out |
| A kilos | By the kilogram |
| Kilos y kilos | Lots and lots |
| Ni kikiri | Totally silent |
| Estar ok | To be okay |
| De kilates (often ‘de quilates‘) | Of high quality |
And what about these expressions used in casual Spanish conversations?
Elena: ¡Hola Javier! ¿Cómo va tu negocio de frutas? (Elena: Hi Javier! How’s your fruit business going?)
Javier: ¡Va de kilates! Estoy vendiendo kiwis a kilos. (Javier: It’s going great! I’m selling kiwis by the kilogram.)
Elena: ¡Qué bueno! Yo estoy KO después de tanto trabajo, pero todo está okay. (Elena: That’s great! I’m knocked out after so much work, but everything’s okay.)
5. Spanish adjectives and names with K
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Karmakarmatico | Karmatic |
| Kakofónico | Kakophonic |
| Kalifa | Caliph |
| Kitsch | Kitsch |
| Koala | Koala |
| Karlos | Carl |
| Karen | Karen |
| Krista | Krista |
The most uncommon Spanish adjectives and names can surely spice up a dialogue:
Ana: ¡Mira ese póster, Roberto! Es muy kitsch, ¿no crees? (Ana: Look at that poster, Roberto! It’s very kitsch, don’t you think?)
Roberto: Sí, es verdad. Me recuerda a esa película kakofónica que vimos la semana pasada. (Roberto: Yes, that’s true. It reminds me of that kakophonic movie we saw last week.)
Ana: Por cierto, ¿conoces a Karlos y Karen? Son una pareja muy karmakarmática. (Ana: By the way, do you know Karlos and Karen? They’re a very karmatic couple.)
6. Learn Spanish words that start with K with Conversation Based Chunking method
A fantastic way to learn these Spanish words that start with K is Conversation Based Chunking. It’s a method that teaches you how to use lexical chunks in real-life contexts instead of memorizing these words one by one.
If you use “karaoke” in a Spanish sentence, it’s much easier to learn “vamos al karaoke“ rather than remembering the English translation of the word every time.
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