き

See also: さ, 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. Variants include those derived by similar process from 支, 起, 木, 祈, 貴 and 喜.

Syllable

き (romaji ki)

1. 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)

See also

• (Hiragana) 平仮名; あぁ, いぃ, うぅゔ, えぇ, おぉ, かゕが, きぎ, くぐ, けゖげ, こご, さざ, しじ, すず, せぜ, そぞ, ただ, ちぢ, つっづ, てで, とど, な, に, ぬ, ね, の, はばぱ, ひびぴ, ふぶぷ, へべぺ, ほぼぽ, ま, み, む, め, も, やゃ, ゆゅ, よょ, ら, り, る, れ, ろ, わゎ, ゐ, ゑ, を, ん, ー, ゝ, ゞ, ゟ

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, is an alternative spelling of the above term. For a list of all kanji read as き, not just those used in Japanese terms, 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] rare; scarce [affix] sparse; dilute [affix] to hope 【季】4 [affix] season [affix] end of a period [affix] youngest 【紀】5 [affix] rule; regulation [affix] age; era; period [affix] to record; to write down [proper noun] A surname​. 【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 【機】4 [noun] a machine, a device; a contraption [noun] 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] (from the chance sense) indicates lives in video games [suffix] indicates machines [suffix] indicates airplanes 【基】5 [affix] foundation; base; basis [counter] counter for grounded things (e.g. pyramids, electric power plants, wells, toro (Japanese traditional lantern), tombs) [counter] counter for wooden grave tablet (卒塔婆(そとば) (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 【祈】S [affix] to pray [affix] to wish 【姫】S [suffix] girl; maiden; woman 【飢】S [affix] hungry; starve 【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] something J; the tenth of the ten Heavenly Stems 【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, is an alternative spelling of the above Sino-Japanese terms. For a list of all kanji read as き, not just those used in Japanese terms, see Category:Japanese kanji read as き.)

(The following entries are uncreated: 寄, 規, 危, 机, 揮, 企, 肌, 岐, 奇, 軌, 既, 鬼, 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) 

1. (Classical Japanese) Indicates past tense: -ed

   Used when the speaker has directly experienced the event described, as opposed to けり.

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	[1]		-
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

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.

Related terms

• けむ (kemu)

See also

• けり (keri)