In English, the letter Q is almost always followed immediately by the letter U, e.g. quiz, quarry, question, squirrel. However, there are some exceptions. The majority of these are anglicised from Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Inuktitut, or other languages that do not use the English alphabet, with Q often representing a sound not found in English. For example, the Chinese pinyin alphabet uses "q" to represent the sound , which is approximated as (ch) in English, hence qi is pronounced by an English speaker (similar to "cheese" without the last consonant).
In other examples, Q represents in standard Arabic, such as in qat and faqir. In Arabic, the letter ق (qaf), traditionally romanised as Q, is quite distinct from ك (kaf), traditionally romanised as K; for example, means but means . However, alternative spellings are sometimes accepted, which use K (or sometimes C) in place of Q; for example, Koran () and Cairo ().
Of the words in this list, most are (or can be) interpreted as nouns, and most would generally be considered loanwords. However, all of the loanwords on this list are considered to be naturalised in English according to at least one major dictionary (see ), often because they refer to concepts or societal roles that do not have an accurate equivalent in English. For words to appear here, they must appear in their own entry in a dictionary; words that occur only as part of a longer phrase are not included.
Proper nouns are not included in the list, including many names, places, and companies, as these can be created arbitrarily.
Words <onlyinclude> Unless noted otherwise, all words listed here are assumed to be pluralized by adding -s or -es. References in the "Sources" column relate to the headword in column one; variant spellings are then separately referenced. The sources given are selective, and the absence of a reference to a particular dictionary does not necessarily mean that the word does not appear in that dictionary.
+ Word Meaning Sources Other forms EtymologybianqingAn ancient Chinese percussion instrumentbuqshaA former Yemeni monetary unitAlso written bogacheArabicburqaA veiled garment worn by some Muslim women Also written burka, burkha, or burquaUrdu and Persian , from Arabic cinqThe number five, as signified in dice or cards French 'five'cinqfoilA plant of the genus Potentilla, or an ornamental design thereof Much more commonly written cinquefoilMiddle English, from Latin , from 'five' + 'leaf'coqA trimming of cock feathers on a woman's hatFrench 'cockerel'|}</onlyinclude>faqihAn Islamic jurisprudentPlural faqihs or fuqaha Arabic faqirA Muslim asceticMore commonly written fakirArabic 'poverty-stricken'fiqhMuslim jurisprudenceArabic 'understanding'inqilabA revolution in India or PakistanArabic mbaqangaA style of South African music Zulu 'steamed maize bread'miqraThe Tanakh, or Hebrew text of the BibleHebrew muqaddamA Bangladeshi or Punjabi headmanArabic nastaliqAn Arabic script used in Persian writingsAlso written nasta'liq , nestaliq , nastaleeq, or shortened to just taliq Persian , from + niqabA veil for the lower-face worn by some Muslim womenAlso written niqaabArabic from pontacqA sweet wine from Pontacq (France)FrenchqQ or q, the 17th letter of the modern English alphabet Greek or LatinqababA dish consisting of pieces of seasoned meatMore commonly written kebab, kebap, kebob, kibob, kebhav, kephav, kebabie, or kabobPersian qabalahA form of Jewish mysticism More commonly written Kabbalah, and also written Qabala , Qabbala , Cabalah etc. Derived words include qabalism, qabalist, and qabalistic.Hebrew qadariyahIn Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free willAlso written Qadariya ArabicqaddishIn Judaism, a prayer of mourningMore commonly written KaddishHebrew qadiA Muslim judge Also written qadhi , qaadi, kadi, kazi qaadee or qazi Arabic qadiriyahIn Islam, a Sufi orderAlso written Qadiriya Arabic qaf, the twenty-first letter of the Arabic alphabetAlso written qaph or qapArabic qaidA Muslim tribal chiefAlso written caid or kaidArabic , 'leader', 'commander'qaimaqamA minor official of the Ottoman Empire Also written kaymakam, kaimakam, caimacam, or qaim makamArabic from 'standing' + 'place', meaning 'standing in place'qalamdanA Persian writing-case Persian qalandarA member of an order of mendicant dervishesAlso written calender, or capitalisedqanatA type of water-supply tunnel found in north Africa and the Middle East Also written kanat, khanat, kunut, kona, konait, ghanat, or ghundatPersian, from Arabic 'channel'qanunA type of harpAlso written qanon or kanun Arabic , rule, principle or modeqantarCertain units of weight used in Mediterranean countries.Also written kantar or cantarArabic qinṭār, from Late Greek kentēnarion weight of 100 pounds, from Late Latin centenariumq'ariThe 27th letter of the three Georgian scripts.Machavariani, p. 136Note: This is not EnglishAlso written QarAsomtavruli: Ⴗ; Nuskhuri: ⴗ; Mkhedruli: ყ; Mtavruli: Ყ; Georgian: ყარი, ყარqāriʾA person who recites the Quran with the proper rules of recitation (tajwid).Note: This is not EnglishAlso written qari; feminine form: qāriʾaArabic: قَارِئ, lit. 'reader', plural قُرَّاء qurrāʾ or قَرَأَةqasidaAn Arabian poem of praise or satire Also written qasidahArabic qatA kind of Arabian shrub used as a narcotic More commonly written khat, kat or gatArabic قات qawwalA person who practices qawwali music qawwaliDevotional music of the Sufis Arabic () 'loquacious' or 'singer'qereA marginal reading in the Hebrew Bible Also written qeri or qre Aramaic , '[what is] read'qhatAn obsolete spelling of whatLikely of Scots origin, in which an older spelling convention used "quh-" or "qh-" where English had "wh-".qhecheAn obsolete spelling of whichqhomAn obsolete spelling of whomqhythsontydAn obsolete spelling of Whitsuntide (the day of Pentecost)qiIn Chinese culture, a physical life force Commonly written chi or kiqianaA type of nylonOriginally a trademark of DuPont, now genericqiblaThe point to which Muslims turn in prayer Also written qiblah , kiblah, qiblih, kibla or qib'lah , sometimes capitalised17th-century Arabic for 'the opposite'qibliA local Libyan name for the sirocco, a southeasterly Mediterranean windAlso written ghibliArabic , "coming from the qiblaqidFour times a dayLatin quater in dieqigongA Chinese system of medical exercises Also written chi gong, ki gong, or chi kungqinA classification of Chinese musical instrumentsqinahA Hebrew elegyAlso written kinah; plural kinnot, qinot, qinoth and qindarkëHebrew qindarAn Albanian unit of currency, equal to one one-hundredth of a lek Plural qindarka or qindars . Also written qintar or quintalAlbanianqingA Chinese chimeAlso written as: ch'ingqinghaosuA drug, artemisinin, used to treat malariaqinterAn Albanian money systemAlbanianqipaoA traditional Chinese dressAlso written chi paoqiranA currency of Iran between 1825 and 1932Also written as: kranPersian qirshA monetary unit of Saudi Arabia and, formerly, various other countriesAlso written qurush, qursh, gursh, girsh or ghirshArabicqiviutThe wool of the musk-oxInuktitut qiyasAn analogy in Sharia, Islamic lawArabic qophThe nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet Also written kophHebrew qormaA type of curryMuch more commonly written kormaPersian→Urdu qwertyA standard English keyboard layout Plural qwertys or qwerties; also rendered QWERTYNamed after the first letters on the top row of the QWERTY keyboard layout.rencqAn obsolete spelling of rankScotssambuqA type of dhow, a small Arabian boatArabic sheqelA unit of weight originally used in Mesopotamia. The modern currency of Israel, divided into 100 agorotPlural sheqels or sheqalim; more commonly written shekelHebrew ,Yiddish souqAn Arab marketplace Also written sooq, soq, suq, souk, esouk, or sukArabic ()talaqA form of Islamic divorce Arabic (), from 'repudiate'taluqAn Indian estateAlso written taluk or talookArabic→Urdu () 'connection', 'relationship'taluqdarA person who collects the revenues of a taluqAlso written talukdar or talookdarArabic→Urdu () 'landholder', 'possessor of an estate', 'lord of a manor'taluqdariAn Indian landholding tenuretaqiyaConcealing faith in Islam due to fear of persecutionAlso written taqiyah , or capitalisedArabic taqlidAcceptance of Muslim orthodoxyArabic tariqaA Sufi method of spiritual development, or a Sufi missionary Also written tariqat or tarikaArabic tranqTranquilizer (sedative)Also written trank Apocopation from tranquilizertsaddiqIn Judaism, a title for a righteous person Plural tsaddiqs or tsaddiqim; also written tzaddiq , tzadik or tzaddikHebrew umiaqAn open Inuit boatAlso spelled umiak, umialak, umiac, oomiac or oomiakInuitwaqfA charitable trust in Islamic law Also written wakf; plural waqf or waqfs Arabic, literally 'stoppage' from , 'come to a standstill'yangqinA trapezoidal Chinese hammered dulcimeryaqonaA Fijian intoxicating beverage, kava Fijian , in which q represents
List of dictionaries cited [MW]: [L]: [ODE]: [LC]: [C]: [Co]: [COD]: [E]: [AHC]: [AOX]: [OED]: [OSPD4]: [RHU]: [RHW]: [SOED]: [TWL]: [W]: [WI]:
See also Constrained writing English words without vowels
References
Bibliography
Scrabble Word Lists Q without U – Parker Brothers, attributed to: