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When to use CK, K or C
back, bank, picnic.
Grades 1-4
The rule
Use ck straight after a short vowel in a short word. Use k after a consonant or a long vowel. Use c at the start of most other words.
How it works
| back, sick, duck | short vowel → ck |
| bank, milk, park | after a consonant → k |
| book, week, look | after a long vowel team → k |
| cat, cup, cold | starting sound → c |
| picnic, music | longer word ending → c |
Watch out for
- The ck spelling almost never starts a word and almost never follows a consonant.
- Longer words often end in -ic rather than -ick: plastic, magic, traffic.