q as in quit

We usually write qu, not cw or kw.

*One-syllable*	*Two-syllable,* *with short vowels*	*With other vowels*	With no “w” sound spelt u
quack quell quench quest quick quid quiff quill quilt quin quip quit quitch quoll squelch squib squid squint squish	aqua banquet equal equip inquest liquid quintet	bequest cumquat enquire equator quads quaff quail quaint quake qualify quality qualm quark quarrel quart quash queen query quiet quince quirk quirky quite quiver quoits quokka quorum quota quotes sequel sequin squab squabs squads squall squalor square squash squats squawk squeak squeal squeeze squire squirm squirt	barbeque burqa coq au vin Iraq Nasdaq Qatar Qattara Quran qwerty sheqel souq umiaq

2 thoughts on “q as in quit”

Kendra Anderson September 5, 2025 at 11:02 am

Hi Alison,

I have always taught (sounds k/w) as a digraph but think now that I have been mistaken all these years because together makes two sounds: /k/ and /w/. Digraphs are two letters that make one sound!
How would you explain this spelling for k/w?

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1. alison Post authorSeptember 5, 2025 at 12:37 pm
  
  I tell kids that in the Olden Days the English spelt ‘queen’ as ‘cwen’, but then when the French invaded they said (outrageous French accent) “no, no, no, you silly English, we write it like this” and I rub out the cw and put qu, “and also we need another e” and I add it. Then I say that’s why we usually don’t write ‘cw’ or ‘kw’ in English, and that we also write ‘gu’ not ‘gw’ (as in language, penguin, iguana, it’s really just the Welsh name Gwen that has ‘gw’ as initial adjacent consonants), blame William the Conqueror, it wasn’t my idea. If you want a more sensible linguistics explanation, I’d say we write /w/ with letter ‘u’ after velar plosives. /w/ is a semivowel and not far from the ‘u’ in ‘tutu’ in production terms, but it occurs in a consonant slot in words like ‘quite’ and ‘guava’. Hope that makes sense! Alison
  
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