Spanish Words That Start with K
Words starting with K don’t have Spanish origin
The letter K is among the less frequent letters in Spanish words. In general, words that begin with K in Spanish have their origin in other languages. Some of the words retain their exact spelling from the original language, while others have been a bit adjusted to look more Spanish (typically by changing the ending or adding a little accent).
Spanish words that start with K
A big group of K words commonly used in the Spanish language are metric units with the prefix kilo- (1,000 multiplier) and Spanish-sounding endings:
- kilometro or kilometraje (kilometre)
- kilogramo (kilogram)
- kilovatio (kilowatt)
- kilólitro (kilolitre; there is an accent on O in kilo- here)
Other words that begin with K in Spanish are from more exotic regions and languages (the meaning in Spanish is the same as in English):
- kárate (an accent on A is added in Spanish)
- kiwi
- koala
Replacing K with Q at start of Spanish words
Many words which begin with K in other languages start with Q in Spanish (Ke- is often transformed to Que-, or Ki- replaced with Qui-). With some words, both the Ke-/Ki- version and Que-/Qui- version are common:
- kiosko or quiosco (kiosk)
- keroseno, kerosén, queroseno, or querosén (kerosene)
Spanish adjectives that start with K
All the example listed above are nouns, as nouns are the most typical foreign origin words in Spanish. Adjectives can be derived from some of these nouns, e.g.:
- kilométrico (kilometric) from kilometro (kilometre)
- kaleidoscópico (kaleidoscopic) from kaleidoscopio (kaleidoscope)
- kaki (khaki) from kaki (adjective which means having the khaki colour)
Spanish verbs that start with K
Similarly, you can derive Spanish verbs from some foreign origin nouns (usually by adding -ar or -ear ending):
- kilometrar (to measure to kilometres)
- kidnapear (to kidnap)
- knockear (to knock-out somebody)
Although none of these words feel 100% Spanish, they are the closest you can get to Spanish words that start with K.