q

See also: Q, -q, գ, զ, q̃, q̇, q., Q., ԛ, and Appendix:Variations of "q"

q U+0071, q LATIN SMALL LETTER Q ← p [U+0070] Basic Latin r → [U+0072]

Character variations

ｑ U+FF51, ｑ FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER Q ← ｐ [U+FF50] Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms ｒ → [U+FF52]

Some typefaces have a hook-tailed q. This is especially common in children's books.

Languages (33)

Translingual • English

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Albanian • Azerbaijani • Basque • Blin • Dutch • Estonian • Finnish • French • Gothic • Greenlandic • Heiltsuk • Hungarian • Ido • Indonesian • Inupiaq • Italian • Kankanaey • Kâte • Kwak'wala • Latin • Lushootseed • Malay • Maltese • Mam • Norwegian • Portuguese • Romani • Romanian • Spanish • Tagalog • Zulu

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Page categories

Translingual

Letter

q (upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

See also

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter Q):  Ɋɋ  ʠ  Ｑｑ  ȹ
• With hook: ʠ

Pronunciation

• Pronunciation of IPA [qɑː, ɑqqɑː] with the sound [q]:

  (file)

Symbol

q

1. Abbreviation of quecto-.
2. (IPA, NAPA) voiceless uvular plosive.

   (superscript ⟨𐞥⟩) – see ⟨𐞥⟩.

3. (physics) electrical charge
4. (physics) heat
5. (fluid dynamics) dynamic pressure

Synonyms

• (electrical charge): Q
• (heat): Q

Gallery

• Letter styles
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase versions of , in normal and italic type
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase Q in Fraktur

See also

Other representations of Q:

NATO phonetic: Quebec Morse code: – – · – Braille: ⠟ ASL Manual: Q

Signal flag:

Semaphore:

English

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /kjuː/

  • Audio (General American):

    (file)

  • Audio (Received Pronunciation):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -uː
  • Homophones: cue, queue
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /k/

Etymology 1

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q, plural qs or q's)

1. The seventeenth letter of the English alphabet, called cue and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

The name of this letter is spelled cue or formerly cu.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letter; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Number

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The ordinal number seventeenth, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called cue and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation.

Noun

q (plural q's)

1. (athletics) Abbreviation of non-automatic qualification: indicates an athlete who qualifies to the next round either by time as a fastest loser (in track events) or by position without achieving the qualifying target (in field events).

   Coordinate term: Q (“automatic qualification”)

2. Abbreviation of question.

   Alternative form: Q

   • 2020 August 19, @BRITs, Twitter‎^[1]:

     We can't BELIEVE it's been #9YearsofLittleMix?! Aside from the girls slaying every #BRITs look they've had, what's your fave mem? (we know it's a hard q!) 👀💖

Related terms

• Q
• DNQ, DNS, DNF, DSQ, DQ

Etymology 3

From Latin quaque (“every”).

Determiner

q

2. (medicine) Each, every (with a time interval).

   Alternative form: Q

   175 mg/m² q 3 wks ― 175 mg/m² every three weeks

Related terms

• qh, QD

Etymology 4

q

1. (stenoscript) the sound sequence /ŋk/, /kw/ or /kjuː/.

See also

• banana q
• max q
• q-analog
• q-derivative
• q-gram
• q-tof
• q-word

 

Albanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /c/

Letter

q (upper case Q)

1. The twenty-third letter of the Albanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) shkronjë; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, Dh dh, E e, Ë ë, F f, G g, Gj gj, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, Nj nj, O o, P p, Q q, R r, Rr rr, S s, Sh sh, T t, Th th, U u, V v, X x, Xh xh, Y y, Z z, Zh zh

Azerbaijani

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɡ/

Letter

q lower case (upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) hərf; A a, B b, C c, Ç ç, D d, E e, Ə ə, F f, G g, Ğ ğ, H h, X x, I ı, İ i, J j, K k, Q q, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ö ö, P p, R r, S s, Ş ş, T t, U u, Ü ü, V v, Y y, Z z

Basque

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ku/, [ku]

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Basque alphabet, called ku and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Used chiefly in recent loanwords and foreign proper nouns.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Blin

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʼ/

Letter

q (uppercase Q)

1. A letter of the Bilen Latin alphabet.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -y
• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ky/

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• Previous letter: p
• Next letter: r

Estonian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkuː/
• Homophone: kuu

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Estonian alphabet, called kuu and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Used only in foreign words.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) täht; A a, B b (C c), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p (Q q), R r, S s, Š š, Z z, Ž ž, T t, U u, V v (W w), Õ õ, Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü (X x, Y y)

Finnish

Etymology

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and q for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

• Audio (letter name); “kuu”:

  (file)

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called kuu and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Used only in loanwords. In more established loanwords qu is replaced with kv.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

French

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ky/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -y
• Homophones: cul, culs, cu, cus, ku, kus, qu, qus

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

q m (plural q)

1. Abbreviation of quintal.

See also

• Previous letter: p
• Next letter: r

Further reading

• “q”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Gothic

Romanization

q

1. Romanization of 𐌵

Greenlandic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /q/

Letter

q

1. The thirteenth letter of the Greenlandic alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v

Heiltsuk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qʰ/ ([qᵡ])

Letter

q (upper case Q)

1. A letter of the Heiltsuk alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Á á, A̓ a̓, B b, C c, C̓ c̓, D d, Ꟛ ꟛ, G g, Gv gv, Ǧ ǧ, Ǧv ǧv, H h, H̓ h̓, Ħ ħ, I i, Í í, I̓ i̓, K k, Kv kv, K̓ k̓, K̓v k̓v, L l, ʼL l̓, Ḷ ḷ, Ḷ́ ḷ́, ʼḶ ḷ̓, Ɫ ɫ, M m, ʼM m̓, Ṃ ṃ, Ṃ́ ṃ́, ʼṂ ṃ̓, N n, ʼN n̓, Ṇ ṇ, Ṇ́ ṇ́, ʼṆ ṇ̓, P p, P̓ p̓, Q q, Qv qv, Q̓ q̓, Q̓v q̓v, S s, T t, T̓ t̓, Ƛ ƛ, Ƛ̓ ƛ̓, U u, Ú ú, U̓ u̓, W w, ʼW w̓, X x, Xv xv, X̌ x̌, X̌v x̌v, Y y, ʼY y̓, Z z, ʔ

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): [ˈk]
• (letter name): IPA^(key): [ˈkuː]

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. A letter of the extended Hungarian alphabet, called kú and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

It is a symbol of the (somewhat dated) unit of mázsa (100 kilos or a quintal, approx. two hundredweight).

It occurs in the following terms, along with their derivations and compounds: becquerel, (archaic spelling: boutique →) butik, cinquecento, conditio sine qua non, denique, donquijoték (plural), IQ, kvad or quad, quantum satis, quaestor, quaestura, quattrocento, quisling, quodlibet, QR-kód, squash, and tequila.

Also in some foreign proper names chiefly from Latin, French, and Spanish, including Aquincum, Aquinói Szent Tamás (Thomas Aquinas), Don Quijote, Dunkerque, García Márquez, Jacques Offenbach, Martinique, Montesquieu, Quartier Latin, Québec, Quintilianus, Quintus Pontius Pilatus, Quito, Torquato Tasso, and Velázquez.

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	q	q-k
accusative	q-t	q-kat
dative	q-nak	q-knak
instrumental	q-val	q-kkal
causal-final	q-ért	q-kért
translative	q-vá	q-kká
terminative	q-ig	q-kig
essive-formal	q-ként	q-kként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	q-ban	q-kban
superessive	q-n	q-kon
adessive	q-nál	q-knál
illative	q-ba	q-kba
sublative	q-ra	q-kra
allative	q-hoz	q-khoz
elative	q-ból	q-kból
delative	q-ról	q-król
ablative	q-tól	q-któl
non-attributive possessive - singular	q-é	q-ké
non-attributive possessive - plural	q-éi	q-kéi

Possessive forms of q
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	q-m	q-im
2nd person sing.	q-d	q-id
3rd person sing.	q-ja	q-i
1st person plural	q-nk	q-ink
2nd person plural	q-tok	q-itok
3rd person plural	q-juk	q-ik

See also

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.

Further reading

• q in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Ido

Pronunciation

• (context pronunciation, always found before the letter U) IPA^(key): /kw/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /kwe/

Letter

q (upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (context pronunciation) IPA^(key): /k/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ki/

Letter

q (upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Indonesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Alternative forms

• ak
• aq (alay)

See also

• (Latin-script letters) huruf; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Etymology 2

From similarity pronunciation of q in English and -ku in Indonesian.

Pronoun

q

1. (text messaging, slang) Abbreviation of aku.

Inupiaq

Pronunciation

1. IPA^(key): /q/

Letter

q (upper case Q)

1. A letter of the Inupiaq alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Italian

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈku/
  • Rhymes: -u
• (phonemic realization) IPA^(key): /kw/

Letter

q f or m (invariable, lower case, upper case Q)

1. The fifteenth letter of the Italian alphabet, called cu and written in the Latin script.

Kankanaey

Etymology

Borrowed from Tagalog q. Letter pronunciation is influenced by English q.

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈkju/ [ˈk̠ju]
  • Rhymes: -u
• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /k/ [k̠̚]

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The nineteenth letter of the Kankanaey alphabet, called kyu and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, Ng ng, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

References

• Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (2016) Ortograpiya di Kankanaëy [Kankanaey Orthography]‎^[2] (in Kankanaey and Tagalog), →ISBN, pages 10-11

Kâte

Letter

q

1. The voiceless stop /k͡p/, vs. curly-tail ⟨ɋ⟩, which is voiced /ɡ͡b/.

Kwak'wala

Alternative forms

• ⟨ḵ⟩ in Uʼmista orthography (standard Kwakʼwala)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /q/

Letter

q (upper case Q)

1. (Liqʼwala dialect) A letter of the Kwak'wala alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• Uʼmista (Latin-script letters) A a, A̱ a̱, B b, D d, Dł dł, Dz dz, E e, G g, Gw gw, G̱ g̱, G̱w g̱w, H h, I i, K k, Kw kw, K̓ k̓, K̓w k̓w, Ḵ ḵ, Ḵw ḵw, Ḵ̓ ḵ̓, Ḵ̓w ḵ̓w, L l, ʼL ʼl, Ł ł, M m, ʼM ʼm, N n, ʼN ʼn, O o, P p, P̓ p̓, S s, T t, T̓ t̓, Tł tł, T̓ł t̓ł, Ts ts, T̓s t̓s, U u, W w, ʼW ʼw, X x, Xw xw, X̱ x̱, X̱w x̱w, Y y, ʼY ʼy, ʼ

• Liq̓ʷala (Latin-script letters) A a, Ə ə, B b, D d, Ꟛ ꟛ, Dᶻ dᶻ, E e, G g, Gʷ gʷ, Ǧ ǧ, Ǧʷ ǧʷ, H h, I i, K k, Kʷ kʷ, K̓ k̓, K̓ʷ k̓ʷ, Q q, Qʷ qʷ, Q̓ q̓, Q̓ʷ q̓ʷ, L l, L̓ l̓, Ł ł, M m, M̓ m̓, N n, N̓ n̓, O o, P p, P̓ p̓, S s, T t, T̓ t̓, Ƛ ƛ, Ƛ̓ ƛ̓, C c, C̓ c̓, U u, W w, W̓ w̓, X x, Xʷ xʷ, X̌ x̌, X̌ʷ x̌ʷ, Y y, Y̓ y̓, ʔ

Latin

Letter

q

1. A letter of the Latin alphabet.

Lushootseed

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /q/

Letter

q

1. The thirty-first letter of the Lushootseed alphabet.

Malay

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Maltese

Etymology

Continues Arabic ق (q).

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ʔ/
  • IPA^(key): [ʔ] (standard)
  • IPA^(key): [q] (dialectal, now especially among the elderly)

Letter

q (upper case Q)

1. The twenty-first letter of the Maltese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) ittra; A a, B b, Ċ ċ, D d, E e, F f, Ġ ġ, G g, Għ għ, H h, Ħ ħ, I i, Ie ie, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Ż ż, Z z

Mam

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /qʰ/

Letter

q (uppercase Q)

1. A letter of the Mam alphabet.

Norwegian

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /kʉː/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /k/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: ku

Letter

q

1. The seventeenth letter of the Norwegian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Rare in written Norwegian, only used in a limited number of loanwords.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a (Á á, À à,  â, àã), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, Ê ê), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ô ô, Õ õ), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Etymology 2

Pronoun

q

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of que.
2. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of quê (“what”).

Romani

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (after n) /ɡ/, (after any other letter) /k/

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. (International Standard) Used to represent the dative and genitive cases.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, X x, I i, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ph ph, R r, S s, T t, Th th, U u, V v, Z z International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).

References

• Yūsuke Sumi (2018) “-q-”, in ニューエクスプレス　ロマ（ジプシー）語 [New Express Romani (Gypsy)] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Hakusuisha, →ISBN, page 15

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k/

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The twentieth letter of the Romanian alphabet, called chiu and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Used chiefly in loanwords.
• The digraph qu is pronounced /kw/, /kv/, or /kʲ/.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ă ă,  â, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, Πî, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, Ș ș, T t, Ț ț, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Spanish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (phoneme) /k/
• IPA^(key): (letter name) /ˈku/ [ˈku]

  • Audio (Spain):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -u

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Spanish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ke/ [ke]
• Rhymes: -e

Pronoun

q

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of que (“that”).

   Hay un policía en la ruta q más uso. ― There's a cop on the route that I use the most.

2. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of qué (“what”).

   q pasó? ― what happened?

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish q. Each pronunciation has a different source:

• Filipino alphabet pronunciation is influenced by English q.
• Abecedario pronunciation is from Spanish q.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈkju/ [ˈkju] (letter name, Filipino alphabet)
    • Rhymes: -u
  • IPA^(key): /ˈku/ [ˈku] (letter name, Abecedario)
    • Rhymes: -u
  • IPA^(key): /k/ [k] (phoneme, usually together with u)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈku/ [ˈku] (phoneme, before u, English unadapted loanwords)

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q, Baybayin spelling ᜃ᜔ᜌᜓ)

1. The nineteenth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (the Filipino alphabet), called kyu and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• This letter is mostly used only in proper nouns, unadapted loanwords, or Spanish-based spellings.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) titik; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, Ng ng, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q, Baybayin spelling ᜃᜓ)

1. (historical) The twentieth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (the Abecedario), called cu and written in the Latin script.

Further reading

• “q”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Zulu

Letter

q (lower case, upper case Q)

1. The seventeenth letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z