Consonants /k/ versus /z/, 262 pairs     [kipzip.html]

The /k/ sound is spelled with <c> or <k> initially, and <ck>, <ch> or <ke> medially or finally. Two exceptional spellings are <qu> in pique and <ch> in Reich, though many English speakers will use a fricative in the latter. The /z/ sound is normally spelled <z> initially and <se> or <zz> medially or finally, but note the exceptional <ts> in Tsar. A great many of the /z/ sounds in this list are plurals or 3rd-person inflections of words ending in vowels.

The contrast is between a voiceless velar stop and a voiced alveolar fricative. It causes no problems.

Interesting pairs include:

buttock butters
hammock hammers
peruke peruse
recourse resource
Suffolk suffers

Taboo word pairs include: fuck/fuzz and wank/whangs.

The mean density value is 1.3%. The list makes 208 semantic distinctions, a loading of 79%.

 
ache A's 
alike allies
antic antes 
arc R's 
auk awes
bake baize 
bake bays
balk boars
balk bores
bank bangs 
bannock banners 
bark baas 
basic basses
beak B's 
belike belies 
bike buys
bike byes
bilk bills
bloke blows
boutique bootees 
brake braes 
brake braise
  braking braising 
break brays
break braes 
break braise
  breaking braising 
break brays
brink brings 
buck buzz
  bucking buzzing
  bucked buzzed
bunk bungs 
burke burrs
buttock butters 
cake K's   
calk cause
  calking causing
  calked caused
Cannock cannas
cap zap
  capped zapped
  capping zapping
  caps zaps
car Tsar 
  cars Tsars 
chalk chaws
chalk chores
cheek cheese
chicle chisel
choke chose
civic civvies
clank clangs 
clink clings 
cloak close
  cloaking closing
  cloaked closed
colic collies
cone zone
  coned zoned
  cones zones
  coning zoning
coo zoo
  coos zoos
cork cause
  corking causing
  corked caused
crake craze
croak crows
debark debars
Dec Des
dickeys dizzies
Dicky dizzy
dike dies 
dike dyes
drake drays
duck does 
duke dues 
eke E's 
eke ease
  eking easing 
  eked eased
elk L's 
enc N's 
fake phase
  faking phasing
  faked phased
fickle fizzle
flake flays
fluke flues 
folk foes 
fork fours
freak frees
freak freeze
  freaking freezing
fuck fuzz
Gallic galleys
gawk gauze 
gawky gauzy
  gawkier gauzier 
  gawkiest gauziest 
Gorky gauzy
hack has
hake haze
hammock hammers 
hank hangs 
hawk haws
hawker hawser
  hawkers hawsers
hick his
hike hies 
hike highs
hulk hulls
ilk ills
irk errs 
jack jazz
  jacking jazzing
Jackie jazzy
Jake J's 
jerky Jersey 
Ken Zen
Kenneth zenith
key zee
king zing
kink kings 
kink zinc
kip zip
  kipped zipped
  kipping zipping
  kips zips
kipper zipper
  kippers zippers
kirk curs 
knuckle nuzzle
  knuckled nuzzled
  knuckles nuzzles
  knuckling nuzzling
lacquer lazar
  lacquers lazars
lake lays
lake laze
like lies 
link lings 
logic lodges 
lucre loser 
mark mars
make Mays 
maker maser
  makers masers
mattock matters 
meekly measly 
Mick Ms
mickle mizzle
milk mills
moke mows
mucky muzzy
  muckier muzzier
  muckiest muzziest
muckle muzzle
music muses 
oak O's 
oak owes
park parrs
park parse
  parking parsing
  parked parsed
peak P's 
peak peas
perk purrs
peruke peruse
physic fizzes 
pike pies 
pink pings 	  
pique P's
pique peas
pocket posit
  pocketed posited
  pocketing positing
  pockets posits
poke pose
  poking posing
  poked posed
poker poser
  pokers posers
poky posy
politic polities
pork pause 
pork paws
psychic psyches 
puke pews 
quick quiz
quickies quizzes
rake raise 
  raking raising 
  rakes raised
rake rays  
recourse resource
Reich rise
rink rings 
sec says   
seek C's
seek seize
  seeking seizing
seeker Caesar 
shark shahs 
sickle sizzle
sickles sizzles
Sikh C's 
Sikh seize
silk sills
sink sings 
skulk sculls 
slake slays
slink slings 
sneak sneeze
  sneaking sneezing
  sneaked sneezed
snook snooze
soak sews
soak sows
spake spays
spark spars
spike spies 
squawk squaws
squeak squeeze
  squeaking squeezing
  squeaked squeezed
squeaker squeezer
  squeakers squeezers
stake stays
stalk stores
stark stars
steak stays
stink stings 
stoke stows
stork stores
Suffolk suffers
talk tawse
talkies tawses
tank tangs 
teak T's 
teak teas
teak tease
think things 
tike ties 
toque toes 
Vic viz
wake ways
wake weighs
walk wars
wank whangs
weak wees
week wheeze
week wees
weak wheeze
whelk wells 
wick whiz 
wink wings 
woke woes 
work whirrs 
wreck res 
York yaws

John Higgins, Shaftesbury, May 2010
updated Chiang Mai, 2024