300px|thumb|alt=Six rows of black square keys with white letters, numbers, and symbols on them slope from the top left to the bottom right with a metallic strip in the top right corner.|[[QWERTY, one of the few native English words with Q not followed by U, is derived from the first six letters of a standard keyboard layout.]]

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><!-- See Wikipedia talk:Featured lists#Proposed change to all featured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->

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.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:auto; clear:both;"

|+

! scope=col | Word

! scope=col class="unsortable" | Meaning

! scope=col class="unsortable" | Sources

! scope=col class="unsortable" | Other forms

! scope=col | Etymology

|-

!scope=row|bianqing

|An ancient Chinese percussion instrument

|<small>[MW]</small>

|

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|buqsha

|A former Yemeni monetary unit

|<small>[L]</small>

|Also written bogache

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|burqa

|A veiled garment worn by some Muslim women

|<small>[ODE][LC][C][AHC][OED]</small>

|Also written burka, burkha, or burqua

|Urdu and Persian , from Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|cinq

|The number five, as signified in dice or cards

|<small>[ODE][COD][OED]</small>

|

|French 'five'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|cinqfoil

|A plant of the genus Potentilla, or an ornamental design thereof

|<small>[SOED][OED]</small>

|Much more commonly written cinquefoil

|Middle English, from Latin , from 'five' + 'leaf'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|coq

|A trimming of cock feathers on a woman's hat

|<small>[WI]</small>

|

|French 'cockerel'<includeonly>

|}</includeonly></onlyinclude>

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|faqih

|An Islamic jurisprudent

|<small>[RHW]</small>

|Plural faqihs or fuqaha <small>[RHU]</small>

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|faqir

|A Muslim ascetic

|<small>[L]</small>

|More commonly written fakir

|Arabic 'poverty-stricken'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|fiqh

|Muslim jurisprudence

|<small>[ODE]</small>

|

|Arabic 'understanding'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|inqilab

|A revolution in India or Pakistan

|<small>[C]</small>

|

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|mbaqanga

|A style of South African music

|<small>[ODE][C][W]</small>

|

|Zulu 'steamed maize bread'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|miqra

|The Tanakh, or Hebrew text of the Bible

|<small>[WI]</small>

|

|Hebrew

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|muqaddam

|A Bangladeshi or Punjabi headman

|<small>[C]</small>

|

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|nastaliq

|An Arabic script used in Persian writings

|<small>[OED]</small>

|Also written nasta'liq <small>[C]</small>, nestaliq&nbsp;<small>[OED]</small>, nastaleeq, or shortened to just taliq&nbsp;<small>[OED]</small>

|Persian , from +

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|niqab

|A veil for the lower-face worn by some Muslim women

|<small>[ODE]</small>

|Also written niqaab

|Arabic from

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|pontacq

|A sweet wine from Pontacq (France)

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|French

|-

!scope=row|q

|Q or q, the 17th letter of the modern English alphabet

|<small>[MW]</small>

|

| Greek or Latin

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qabab

|A dish consisting of pieces of seasoned meat

|<small>[OED]</small>

|More commonly written kebab, kebap, kebob, kibob, kebhav, kephav, kebabie, or kabob

|Persian

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qabalah

|A form of Jewish mysticism

|<small>[C][AHC][WI]</small>

|More commonly written Kabbalah, and also written Qabala <small>[AHC]</small>, Qabbala <small>[WI]</small>, Cabalah etc. Derived words include qabalism, qabalist, and qabalistic.

|Hebrew

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qadariyah

|In Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will

|<small>[RHU]</small>

|Also written Qadariya <small>[RHU]</small>

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qaddish

|In Judaism, a prayer of mourning

|<small>[C]</small>

|More commonly written Kaddish

|Hebrew

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qadi

|A Muslim judge

|<small>[L][C][W][OED][AOX]</small>

|Also written qadhi <small>[OED]</small>, qaadi, kadi, kazi qaadee or qazi&nbsp;<small>[OED]</small>

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qadiriyah

|In Islam, a Sufi order

|<small>[RHU]</small>

|Also written Qadiriya <small>[RHU]</small>

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qaf

|, the twenty-first letter of the Arabic alphabet

|<small>[RHW]</small>

|Also written qaph or qap

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qaid

|A Muslim tribal chief

|<small>[RHW]</small>

|Also written caid or kaid

|Arabic , 'leader', 'commander'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qaimaqam

|A minor official of the Ottoman Empire

|<small>[C][OED]</small>

|Also written kaymakam, kaimakam, caimacam, or qaim makam

|Arabic from 'standing' + 'place', meaning 'standing in place'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qalamdan

|A Persian writing-case

|<small>[C]</small>

|

| Persian

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qalandar

|A member of an order of mendicant dervishes

|<small>[RHU]</small>

|Also written calender, or capitalised

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qanat

|A type of water-supply tunnel found in north Africa and the Middle East

|<small>[ODE][C][OED][AOX]</small>

|Also written kanat, khanat, kunut, kona, konait, ghanat, or ghundat

|Persian, from Arabic 'channel'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qanun

|A type of harp

|<small>[OED]</small>

|Also written qanon or kanun <small>[OED]</small>

|Arabic , rule, principle or mode

|- valign="top"

!q'ari

|The 27th letter of the three Georgian scripts.

|

|Also written Qar

|Asomtavruli: Ⴗ; Nuskhuri: ⴗ; Mkhedruli: ყ; Mtavruli: Ყ; Georgian: ყარი, ყარ

|- valign="top"

!qāriʾ

|A person who recites the Quran with the proper rules of recitation (tajwid).

|

|Also written qari; feminine form: qāriʾa

|Arabic: قَارِئ, <small>lit. </small>'reader', plural قُرَّاء qurrāʾ or قَرَأَة

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qasida

|An Arabian poem of praise or satire

|<small>[C][OED][AOX]</small>

|Also written qasidah

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qat

|A kind of Arabian shrub used as a narcotic

|<small>[L][C][OED]</small>

|More commonly written khat, kat or gat

|Arabic قات

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qawwal

|A person who practices qawwali music

|<small>[ODE][C][AOX]</small>

|

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qawwali

|Devotional music of the Sufis

|<small>[ODE][C][AOX]</small>

|

|Arabic () 'loquacious' or 'singer'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qere

|A marginal reading in the Hebrew Bible

|<small>[OED][WI]</small>

|Also written qeri <small>[WI]</small> or qre <small>[WI]</small>

|Aramaic , '[what is] read'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qhat

|An obsolete spelling of what

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

| rowspan="4" |Likely of Scots origin, in which an older spelling convention used "quh-" or "qh-" where English had "wh-".

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qheche

|An obsolete spelling of which

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qhom

|An obsolete spelling of whom

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qhythsontyd

|An obsolete spelling of Whitsuntide (the day of Pentecost)

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qi

|In Chinese culture, a physical life force

|<small>[ODE][C][AHC][OED]</small>

|Commonly written chi or ki

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qiana

|A type of nylon

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|Originally a trademark of DuPont, now generic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qianzhousaurus

|A genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period

|<small>[MW]</small>

|

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qibla

|The point to which Muslims turn in prayer

|<small>[ODE][COD][C][OED][AOX]</small>

|Also written qiblah&nbsp;<small>[OED]</small>, kiblah, qiblih, kibla or qib'lah&nbsp;<small>[RHU]</small>, sometimes capitalised

|17th-century Arabic for 'the opposite'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qibli

|A local Libyan name for the sirocco, a southeasterly Mediterranean wind

|<small>[OED]</small>

|Also written ghibli

|Arabic , "coming from the qibla

|-

!scope=row|qid

|Four times a day

|<small>[MW]</small>

|

|Latin quater in die

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qigong

|A Chinese system of medical exercises

|<small>[ODE][C][AOX]</small>

|Also written chi gong, ki gong, or chi kung

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qin

|A classification of Chinese musical instruments

|<small>[AOX]</small>

|

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qinah

|A Hebrew elegy

|<small>[WI]</small>

|Also written kinah; plural kinnot, qinot, qinoth and qindarkë

|Hebrew

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qindar

|An Albanian unit of currency, equal to one one-hundredth of a lek

|<small>[ODE][L][C]</small>

|Plural qindarka <small>[L]</small> or qindars <small>[C]</small>. Also written qintar <small>[L][C][AOX]</small> or quintal

|Albanian

|-

!scope=row|qing

|A Chinese chime

|<small>[MW]</small>

|Also written as: ch'ing

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qinghaosu

|A drug, artemisinin, used to treat malaria

|<small>[C]</small>

|

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qinter

|An Albanian money system

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|Albanian

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qipao

|A traditional Chinese dress

|<small>[OED]</small>

|Also written chi pao

|

|-

!scope=row|qiran

|A currency of Iran between 1825 and 1932

|<small>[MW]</small>

|Also written as: kran

|Persian

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qirsh

|A monetary unit of Saudi Arabia and, formerly, various other countries

|<small>[RHU]</small>

|Also written qurush, qursh, gursh, girsh or ghirsh

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qiviut

|The wool of the musk-ox

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|Inuktitut

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qiyas

|An analogy in Sharia, Islamic law

|<small>[RHW]</small>

|

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qoph

|The nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet

|<small>[L][C]</small>

|Also written koph

|Hebrew

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qorma

|A type of curry

|<small>[Co]</small>

|Much more commonly written korma

|Persian→Urdu

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|qwerty

|A standard English keyboard layout

|<small>[ODE][COD][LC][C][AOX][OED]</small>

|Plural qwertys or qwerties; also rendered QWERTY

|Named after the first letters on the top row of the QWERTY keyboard layout.

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|rencq

|An obsolete spelling of rank

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|Scots

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|sambuq

|A type of dhow, a small Arabian boat

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|sheqel

|A unit of weight originally used in Mesopotamia. The modern currency of Israel, divided into 100 agorot

|<small>[MW]</small>

|Plural sheqels or sheqalim; more commonly written shekel

|Hebrew ,<br>Yiddish

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|souq

|An Arab marketplace

|<small>[ODE][C][OED][AOX]</small>

|Also written sooq, soq, suq, souk, esouk, or suk

|Arabic ()

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|talaq

|A form of Islamic divorce

|<small>[ODE][C][OED]</small>

|

|Arabic (), from 'repudiate'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|taluq

|An Indian estate

|<small>[OED]</small>

|Also written taluk or talook

|Arabic→Urdu () 'connection', 'relationship'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|taluqdar

|A person who collects the revenues of a taluq

|<small>[OED]</small>

|Also written talukdar or talookdar

|Arabic→Urdu () 'landholder', 'possessor of an estate', 'lord of a manor'

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|taluqdari

|An Indian landholding tenure

|<small>[OED]</small>

|

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|taqiya

|Concealing faith in Islam due to fear of persecution

|<small>[RHW]</small>

|Also written taqiyah <small>[RHU]</small>, or capitalised

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|taqlid

|Acceptance of Muslim orthodoxy

|<small>[RHW]</small>

|

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|tariqa

|A Sufi method of spiritual development, or a Sufi missionary

|<small>[E][AOX]</small>

|Also written tariqat <small>[E]</small> or tarika

|Arabic

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|tranq

|Tranquilizer (sedative)

|<small>[OED]</small>

|Also written trank <small>[OED]</small>

|Apocopation from tranquilizer

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|tsaddiq

|In Judaism, a title for a righteous person

|<small>[C][OED]</small>

|Plural tsaddiqs or tsaddiqim; also written tzaddiq&nbsp;<small>[C]</small>, tzadik or tzaddik

|Hebrew

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|umiaq

|An open Inuit boat

|<small>[OSPD4]</small>

|Also spelled umiak, umialak, umiac, oomiac or oomiak

|Inuit

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|waqf

|A charitable trust in Islamic law

|<small>[ODE][C][OED]</small>

|Also written wakf; plural waqf&nbsp;<small>[ODE][C][OED]</small> or waqfs&nbsp;<small>[C][OED]</small>

|Arabic, literally 'stoppage' from , 'come to a standstill'

|-

!scope=row|yangqin

|A trapezoidal Chinese hammered dulcimer

|<small>[C]</small>

|

|

|- valign="top"

!scope=row|yaqona

|A Fijian intoxicating beverage, kava

|<small>[C][OED]</small>

|

|Fijian , in which q represents

|}

List of dictionaries cited

  • [AH]:
  • [AHC]:
  • [AOX]:
  • [C]:
  • [Co]:
  • [COD]:
  • [E]:
  • [L]:
  • [LC]:
  • [MW]:
  • [MWO]:
  • [ODE]:
  • [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: