How to write き (ki) in hiragana
き (ki) turns into ぎ (gi) with the voicing marks. It grew out of the cursive form of the kanji 幾 (“how many”). Its four strokes begin at the top left, heading rightwards, and the last one finishes at the bottom right. Words that start with it include 気 (“spirit”), 木 (“tree”), 危機 (“crisis”) and 記事 (“article”).
- Romaji
- ki
- Strokes
- 4
- From
- 幾
- Katakana
- キ
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- top leftrightwards
- leftrightwards
- topdown and right → leftwards
- bottom leftrightwards
Where き comes from
- Hiragana
- 幾, cursive of the whole kanji
- Katakana
- キ from 幾
Here both scripts start from the same kanji, 幾 (“how many”).
Look-alikes
- さ, 3 strokes
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
With voicing marks
Base kana first, then the marks at the top right.
Combined sounds
- きゃ kya
- きゅ kyu
- きょ kyo
- ぎゃ gya
- ぎゅ gyu
- ぎょ gyo
Words with き
2,484 common JMdict words with it; ten shown.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 気 | き ki | spirit; mind |
| 木 | き ki | tree; shrub |
| 危機 | きき kiki | crisis; critical situation |
| 記事 | きじ kiji | article; news story |
| 北 | きた kita | north; the North |
| 規模 | きぼ kibo | scale; scope |
| 期間 | きかん kikan | period; term |
| 機関 | きかん kikan | engine; agency |
| 機構 | きこう kikou | mechanism; machinery |
| 記者 | きしゃ kisha | reporter; journalist |
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kana: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Hiragana, in chart order: