ki / キ
The second K-row katakana — a bright “ki” built from two crossbars and a vertical. The same sound as hiragana き.
Pronunciation
The character キ represents the syllable 'ki', identical in pronunciation to hiragana き. Very common in loanwords (kiss, kitchen, keyboard) and food names (cake, cookie).
キ matches hiragana き — a sharp, bright “ki.” In katakana it heads loanwords like キス (kiss), キッチン (kitchen), and キーボード (keyboard), and combines into キャ・キュ・キョ for sounds such as キャンプ (camp).
How to write キ
Trace キ on the canvas at the top of the page. Animated arrows show each stroke's direction; trace along them and the stroke fills in. Each numbered step below explains what that stroke does.
A short stroke near the top, angling up slightly as it crosses from left to right.
A second crossbar below it, parallel to the first and a touch longer.
A long vertical descending through both crossbars, from top to bottom and leaning slightly right.
Origin
Katakana キ is a simplified piece of the kanji 幾 (ki, “how many” or “some”). Heian-era scribes kept only the crossed strokes near its centre and let the dense rest of the character fall away.
Common words starting with キ
Printable practice sheet
Print this worksheet to practice writing キ by hand — the top row shows the stroke order to trace, then fill the blank squares.
Lock it into memory
Reading is only half of it. Drill the katakana you’ve learned with spaced-repetition flashcards — the fastest way to make them stick.