き

See also: さ, ざ, さ゚, ぎ, and き゚

き	U+304D, き HIRAGANA LETTER KI

← が
[U+304C]

Hiragana

ぎ →
[U+304E]

Japanese

Stroke order

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [kʲi]

Etymology 1

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 幾 in the cursive sōsho style.

Syllable

き • (ki)

The hiragana syllable き (ki). Its equivalent in katakana is キ (ki). It is the seventh syllable in the gojūon order; its position is か行い段 (ka-gyō i-dan, “row ka, section i”).

Derived terms

ぎ (gi)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of き – see the following entry.

【木】1	[noun] a tree or shrub [noun] wood, timber, lumber [noun] (graph theory, computer science) a tree (data structure) [noun] (theater, sumo, etc.) a clapper used to signal the opening or closing of a match or play Alternative spelling 樹

(This term, き (ki), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as き, see Category:Japanese kanji read as き.)

Etymology 3

For pronunciation and definitions of き – see the following entries.

【気】1	[noun] spirit, mood [noun] inclination, will, mood, urge [noun] feeling, sense [noun] air, gas [noun] air, nature, disposition, sense [noun] This term needs a translation to English.

【汽】2	[affix] steam; vapor

【帰】2	[affix] to return; to come back to [affix] to follow; to submit

【記】2	[affix] to record; to mark [affix] to remember; to keep in mind [noun] a chronicle [suffix] chronicle, history, account, record [proper noun] Short for 古事記 (Kojiki): the oldest extant record of the history of ancient Japan [proper noun] a surname

【起】3	[affix] to rise; to get up; to stand up [affix] to start; to begin; to cause; to bring about [affix] origin; cause; beginning

【期】3	[affix] time; period [affix] to expect; to look forward to [suffix] period (of time) [suffix] (television show) season [suffix] geological age

【希】4	[affix] to hope [affix] rare; scarce [affix] sparse; dilute Alternative spellings 稀, け

【季】4	[affix] season [affix] end of a period [affix] youngest

【紀】5	[noun] chronicle, written record [noun] (geology) period [proper noun] a surname [proper noun] Short for 日本書紀 (Nihon Shoki, “Nihon Shoki”). [proper noun] Short for 紀伊 (Kii, “Kii Province”). [affix] rule; regulation [affix] age; era; period [affix] to record; to write down

【喜】5	[affix] joy; delight; pleasure

【旗】4	[affix] flag; banner [noun] banner (type of administrative division in Inner Mongolia, China)

【器】4	[affix] device; instrument [affix] container; vessel [suffix] device; instrument Alternative spelling 噐

【機】4

[noun] a machine, a device; a contraption

[noun] (weaving) a loom

[noun] an opportunity, a chance to do something; the right time or moment

[noun] something of great importance: the linchpin of the matter

[noun] resourcefulness

[noun] (Buddhism) the moment of being moved into action by the teachings of the Buddha: see 機根 (kikon)

[noun] by extension, the workings of the heart or mind in general

[noun] in Noh theater, the breath of the mind

[noun] short for 飛行機 (hikōki): an airplane, an aircraft

[noun] short for 機関銃 (kikanjū): a machine gun

[counter] indicates aircraft

[counter] indicates paper aeroplanes

[counter] indicates lives in video games

[suffix] indicates machines

[suffix] indicates airplanes

【基】5	[affix] foundation; base; basis [affix] (chemistry) a group; a radical [counter] counter for grounded things (e.g. pyramids, electric power plants, wells, toro (Japanese traditional lantern), tombs) [counter] counter for wooden grave tablets (卒塔婆 (sotoba))

【己】6	[proper noun] the sixth of the ten heavenly stems

【貴】6	[prefix] (archaic) added to nouns related to people to indicate superiority [prefix] (archaic) added to nouns to indicate respect and possession: your [suffix] added after nouns related to people to express love and respect

【忌】S	[noun] mourning [noun] anniversary of someone's death

【奇】S	[adjective] strange [noun] strangeness

【祈】S	[affix] to pray [affix] to wish

【姫】S	[suffix] lady

【飢】S	[affix] hungry; starve

【鬼】S	[proper noun] (astronomy) the Ghost constellation, one of the Twenty-Eight Mansions

【亀】S	[affix] tortoise, turtle [affix] tortoise shell used in divination

【騎】S	[affix] riding on horseback [affix] a horseperson [counter] [early 1200s] horseperson [noun] riding on horseback [noun] [1877] (rare) a horseperson

【癸】H	[proper noun] the tenth of the ten heavenly stems; [proper noun] the tenth rank; something J

【冀】H	[affix] hope for, look forward to, wish [proper noun] (historical) Short for 冀州 (Kishū): Ji Province [proper noun] Synonym of 河北 (Kahoku): Hebei Province

(This term, き (ki), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as き, see Category:Japanese kanji read as き.)

(The following entries are uncreated: 寄, 規, 危, 机, 揮, 企, 肌, 岐, 軌, 既, 幾, 棋, 棄, 毀, 畿, 輝, 稀, 綺, 嬉, 毅, 窺, 徽, 几, 悸, 愧, 詭, 跪, 麾, 騏, 饑, 羈, 驥.)

Etymology 4

Suffix

き • (-ki)

(Classical Japanese) Indicates past tense: -ed
Used when the speaker has directly experienced the event described, as opposed to けり.

Usage notes

Follows the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of inflectable words, except:

	終止形 (“terminal”)	連体形 (“attributive”)	已然形 (“realis”)
来(く) (ku) + き	(unattested)	こし (koshi)	こしか (koshika)
す (su) + き	しき (shiki)	せし (seshi)	せしか (seshika)

This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助動詞 (jodōshi, “auxiliary verb”) in traditional Japanese grammar.

Conjugation

Classical conjugation of "き" (irregular)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	せけ	se ke
Continuative (連用形)		-
Terminal (終止形)	き	ki
Attributive (連体形)	し	si
Realis (已然形)	しか	sika
Imperative (命令形)		-
Key constructions
Negative	ざりき^[1]	zariki
Contrasting conjunction	しかど	sikado
Causal conjunction	しかば	sikaba
Conditional conjunction	せばけば	seba keba
^[1]Use past tense of ず

Derived terms

けり (keri)

Related terms

けむ (kemu) (possibly a derivative)