/k/

Raise the back of your tongue and press it firmly against the soft palate (velum) - the soft area at the back of the roof of your mouth. Completely block the airflow, build up pressure, then release it in a quick burst. Your vocal cords stay silent throughout - if you touch your throat, you should feel no vibration.

The key feature of English /k/ is aspiration: a strong puff of air immediately after release. This happens when /k/ starts a word or stressed syllable, as in "cat," "key," or "come." Hold a tissue in front of your mouth while saying "car" - it should flutter from the air burst. However, after /s/ (as in "sky," "scar") or at word endings (as in "back"), the aspiration is much weaker or absent.

Both sounds use the exact same tongue position. The difference is voicing and aspiration:

• /k/ is voiceless (no throat vibration) and strongly aspirated at word beginnings
• /ɡ/ is voiced (throat vibrates) with minimal aspiration

Compare "coat" and "goat," "came" and "game." For American listeners, the aspiration on /k/ is the primary cue - if you say /k/ without enough aspiration, it may sound like /ɡ/.

The /k/ sound has several spellings: c before a, o, u (cat, cot, cup), k before e, i, y (keep, kite, sky), ck after short vowels (back, trick), and ch in Greek-origin words (school, ache, chemistry).

Practice the aspiration contrast: say "key" with an exaggerated puff of air, then "ski" more gently without the puff. Word-initial /k/ needs that distinctive burst of air to sound natural in American English.