Velar ejective stop
kʼ
IPA Number	109 + 401
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	k​ʼ
Unicode (hex)	U+006B U+02BC
X-SAMPA	k_>
Image

The velar ejective is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨kʼ⟩.

Features

Features of the velar ejective:

• Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet, the airflow is blocked entirely, and the consonant is a plosive.
• Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is ejective (glottalic egressive), which means the air is forced out by pumping the glottis upward.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Abkhaz		акы/aky	[akʼə]	'one'
Adyghe	Temirgoy	шкӏэ/šč̣ǎ	[ʃkʼa] (help·info)	'calf'
	Shapsug	кӏьэ/č̣yė	[kʲʼa] (help·info)	'tail'	Palatalized. Corresponds to [t͡ʃʼ] in other dialects.
Archi[1]		кIан/k'an	[kʼan]	'bottom'
Armenian	Yerevan dialect[2]	կեղծ/kekhts	[kʼɛʁt͡sʼ]	'false'	Some speakers. Corresponds to tenuis [k⁼] in most speakers and other Eastern dialects.
	Tbilisi dialect	կարմիր/karmir	[kʼɑɹmiɹ]	'red'
Chechen		кӀант/khant	[kʼɑːnt]	'boy'
English[3][4]	Non-local Dublin[5]	back	[bækʼ]	'back'	Allophone of /k/ for some speakers.[5]
	Northern English[6][7][8][9]				Pre-pausal allophone of /k/ for some speakers;[6][8] may be somewhat palatalised.[6] See English phonology
	Southern English[5][6][7][8]
	Scottish[10]				Occasional word-final allophone of /k/.[10]
Georgian		კაბა/kʼaba	[kʼɑbɑ]	'dress'
Haida		ttsanskkaagid	[tsʼanskʼaːkit]	'beams'
Hausa		ƙoƙari	[kʼòːkʼɐ̄ɾī]	'effort'
Kabardian	Baslaney	кӏьапсэ/kl'apsè	[kʲʼaːpsa] (help·info)	'rope'	Palatalized. Corresponds to [t͡ʃʼ] in other dialects.
Kʼicheʼ		k'ak'	[kʼaːkʼ]	'new'
Lezgian		кIир/k'ir	[kʼir]	'fang'
Navajo		k'os	[k'òs]	'cloud'
Ossetian	Iron	къона/khona	[ˈkʼonä]	'hearth'
	Digoron	дзæкъолæ/dzækholæ	[d͡zəˈkʼoɫə]	'bag'
Quechua		k'aspi	[kʼaspi]	'stick'