American English sound
/k/: how to pronounce “k” in kite, back and school
/k/ is made by raising the back of the tongue against the soft palate and releasing it, with no voice. At the start of a stressed syllable it has a puff of air: key, cool.
It has more spellings than any other consonant: c (cat), k (kite), ck (back), ch (school), q (queen) and even x (box, which is /ks/).
/k/
the “k” sound
How to make the sound
- 1Raise the back of your tongue against the soft palate, at the back of the roof of your mouth.
- 2Keep your voice off.
- 3Release with a small puff of air at the start of a stressed syllable: cool, key.
- 4After s there's no puff: school, sky.
- Tongue
- back-velar
- Lips
- neutral
- Voice
- voiceless
Hear it in words
Tap a word to hear it.
At the start
In the middle
At the end
How it's spelled
- c: cat, cool, picnic
- k / ck: kite, back, pick
- ch: school, character, stomach
- q / x: queen (kw), box (ks)
- silent k: know, knife, knee
Common mistakes
No puff of air: “gold” for cold
Without aspiration, a k at the start of a word can sound like g. Add the puff.
Dropping a final k
Back and bag, pick and pig differ only at the end. Release the k clearly, or at least close for it.
Pronouncing silent k
Know, knife, knee and knock start with /n/.
Minimal pairs
Each pair differs by one sound. If both words sound the same when you say them, practice this pair.
Try it
“Kate keeps a clock and a cake in the kitchen.”
Record a sentence and get a score for every sound, /k/ included. Free, no account.
Questions
Why is the k in know silent?
It was pronounced in Old and Middle English (“k-now”), then dropped around the 1600s. The spelling stayed. Knife, knee, knight and knock are the same.
When is ch pronounced /k/?
Mostly in words from Greek: school, character, stomach, technology, chemistry. In most English words ch is the /tʃ/ of chip.