kilo-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "kilo"

Languages (29)

English

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English

Etymology

Borrowed from French kilo-, irregularly derived from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “one thousand”). The etymologically "correct" form would be chili- or chilo-, resulting in forms such as chiliasme (“chiliasm”) or chilopode (“centipede”); but the French, when creating the prefix, had to avoid a possible (standard) pronunciation of chi as /ʃi/, too close to the vulgar verb chier (“to shit”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: kĭl′ə-
• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada, Australian, Scotland) IPA^(key): /ˌkɪl.ə-/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˌkəl.ə-/
• Hyphenation: kil‧o-

Prefix

SI prefix

k	Previous:	hecto-
	Next:	mega-

kilo-

2. In the International System of Units and other metric systems of units, multiplying the unit to which it is attached by a thousand (1000).

   Alternative form: k- (symbol)

   Synonym: chilia-

   Antonym: milli-

4. (computing, deprecated) Synonym of kibi- (“multiplying the unit to which it is attached by 2¹⁰ = 1024”).

   Synonyms: Ki-, ki-

Usage notes

• The usage of kilo- as a 1024x multiplier in computing (i.e., to mean kibi-) is obsolete, but many people continue to use it this way.

Related terms

English terms prefixed with kilo-

kilo-amp

kiloamp

kiloampere

kiloannum

kilobar

kilobarn

kilobase

kilobase pair

kilobasepair

kilobaud

kilobecquerel

kilobinary

kilobit

kilobuck

kilobyte

kilocalorie

kilocandela

kilocount

kilocurie

kilocycle

kilodalton

kiloday

kilodegree

kilodisintegration

kilodyne

kiloelectronvolt

kiloerg

kiloflop

kilofoot

kilogallon

kilogauss

kilogirl-hour

kilogon

kilogram

kilogramme

kilogray

kilohertz

kilohour

kilo-joule

kilojoule

kilokatal

kilokelvin

kilolambda

kilolight

kiloliter

kilolitre

kilolumen

kilolux

kilomaser

kilomegacycle

kilometer

kilometre

kilomile

Kilominx

kilomole

kilo-newton

kilonewton

kilonova

kilonucleotide

kiloohm

kiloparsec

kilopascal

kilopixel

kilopound

kilorad

kilorayleigh

kiloroentgen

kilosample

kilosecond

kilostere

superkilonova

kilotex

kiloton

kilotonnage

kilotonne

kilotorr

kilotrial

kilounit

kilovar

kilovirion

kilovolt

kilovoltmeter

kilovoltage

kilowarhol

kilo-watt

kilowatt

kilowattage

kilowatt hour

kilowatt-hour

kilowatt-year

kiloword

kiloyard

kiloyear

Translations

prefix

• Albanian: kilo-
• Basque: kilo- (eu)
• Belarusian: кіла- (kila-)
• Bulgarian: кило- (kilo-)
• Catalan: quilo- (ca), kilo- (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 千- (yue) (cin¹)

  Hakka: 千- (chhiên-)

  Hokkien: 千- (zh-min-nan) (chhian-)

  Mandarin: 千- (zh) (qiān-)

• Czech: kilo- (cs)
• Danish: kilo- (da)
• Dutch: kilo- (nl)
• Esperanto: kilo-
• Estonian: kilo- (et)
• Finnish: kilo- (fi)
• French: kilo- (fr)
• Galician: quilo- (gl)
• German: kilo- (de)
• Greek: χιλιό- (el) (chilió-), χιλιο- (el) (chilio-)
• Hindi: सहस्र- (sahasra-)
• Hungarian: kilo- (hu)
• Icelandic: kíló-
• Ido: kilo-
• Indonesian: kilo-
• Ingrian: kilo-
• Irish: cilea-
• Italian: chilo- (it), kilo- (it)
• Japanese: キロ- (kiro-)
• Korean: 킬로- (killo-)
• Latvian: kilo-
• Lithuanian: kilo-
• Malagasy: kilao-
• Malay: kilo- (ms)
• Marathi: सहस्र- (sahasra-)
• Nepali: सहस्र- (sahasra-)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kilo- (no)

  Nynorsk: kilo-

• Polish: kilo- (pl)
• Portuguese: quilo- (pt), kilo-
• Romanian: kilo- (ro)
• Russian: кило- (ru) (kilo-)
• Serbo-Croatian: kilo-
• Slovak: kilo-
• Slovene: kilo-
• Spanish: kilo- (es), quilo-, kili-
• Swedish: kilo- (sv)
• Tagalog: libo-
• Thai: กิโล- (gì-loo)
• Turkish: kilo-
• Ukrainian: кіло- (kilo-)
• Vietnamese: ki-lô (vi)

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Ilok, Loki

Albanian

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Albanian terms prefixed with kilo-

kilometër

Further reading

• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[2], 1980

Basque

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Category Basque terms prefixed with kilo- not found

Further reading

• “kilogramo”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]

Catalan

Alternative forms

• quilo-

Etymology

Borrowed from French kilo-, from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “thousand”).

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo- (SI prefix expressing 10³ of the base unit)

Usage notes

• The letter k is not normally used in Catalan. Instead, Catalan orthography calls for using the qu digraph to represent the /k/ sound before an e or an i. Therefor, when the metric system was introduced into Catalan, the prefix kilo- was originally spelled quilo-. With the advent of k as a standard international abbreviation, usage of kilo- has become not only acceptable, but also more common than the traditional spelling. However, traditionalists still insist upon the use of quilo-.

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “kilo-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “kilo-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɪlo ]

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Czech terms prefixed with kilo-

kilobajt

kilobit

kilobyte

kilogram

kilojoule

kilometr

kilotuna

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• kilo- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

Danish

Etymology

From French kilo-, ultimately from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi).

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Danish terms prefixed with kilo-

kilometer

Further reading

• “kilo-” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

From French kilo-.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Dutch terms prefixed with kilo-

kilocandela

kilogram

kilometer

kilo-ohm

kiloseconde

Further reading

• “kilogram” in Van Dale Onlinewoordenboek, Van Dale Lexicografie, 2007.

Esperanto

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Esperanto terms prefixed with kilo-

kilobajto

kilobito

kilobitoko

kilogramo

kilometro

kilovato

Further reading

• “kilo”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN
• “kilo-”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-2026

Estonian

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Estonian terms prefixed with kilo-

kilogramm

kilometraaž

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009

Finnish

Etymology

Internationalism, from French kilo-, ultimately from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “one thousand”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkilo-/, [ˈk̟ilo̞-]

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

• kilogramma
• kilojoule
• kilokalori
• kilometri
• kilopondi
• kilotavu
• kilotonni
• kilowatti

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 1 July 2023

Anagrams

• Koli, loki, olki

French

Etymology

Derived from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi). See English kilo-.

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

French terms prefixed with kilo-

kilocycle

kiloélectronvolt

kilogramme

kilomètre

kilooctet

kilowatt

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

German

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

German terms prefixed with kilo-

Kilovolt

Kiloelektronenvolt

Kilogramm

Kilojoule

Kilometer

Kiloparsec

Kilowattstunde

Further reading

• “kilo-” in Duden online
• “kilo-”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[4] (in German)

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkilo]
• Hyphenation: ki‧lo

Prefix

kilo-

1. (noun prefix) kilo-

   ‎kilo- + ‎méter (“meter”) → ‎kilométer (“kilometer”)

Derived terms

Hungarian nouns prefixed with kilo-

kilogramm

kilométer

Further reading

• kilométer in Hungarian–English dictionary at SZTAKI

Ido

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Ido terms prefixed with kilo-

kilogramo

kilometro

Further reading

• kilogram-o in Ido-English Dictionary by L.H. Dyer, 1924

Ingrian

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian кило- (kilo-).

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈkilo-/, [ˈkiɫo̞ˑ-]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈkilo-/, [ˈkiɫo̞ˑ-]

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Ingrian terms prefixed with kilo-

kilogramma

kilometra

Italian

Prefix

kilo-

1. (sciences) kilo-

   Synonym: (in more general usage) chilo-

Further reading

• kilo- in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Latvian

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Latvian terms prefixed with kilo-

kilograms

Further reading

• kilo- at tezaurs.lv

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kʲɪlɔ-]
• Syllabification: ki‧lo-

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Lithuanian terms prefixed with kilo-

kilobaitas

kilogramas

kilometras

kilovatas

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of common Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, n.d.
• “kilo-”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2026

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål terms prefixed with kilo-

kilogram

kilometer

Further reading

• “kilo-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Norwegian Nynorsk terms prefixed with kilo-

kilocykel

kilogram

kilometer

Further reading

• “kilogram” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes-

Proto-Indo-European *-lom

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰesliyoy

Proto-Hellenic *kʰehliyoi

Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi)der.

French kilo-bor.

Polish kilo-

Borrowed from French kilo-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki.lɔ/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ilɔ
• Syllabification: ki‧lo-

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Polish terms prefixed with kilo-

kilobajt

kilogram

kilokaloria

kilometr

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[5] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Prefix

kilo-

1. alternative spelling of quilo-

Romanian

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Romanian terms prefixed with kilo-

kiloamper

kilocalorie

kilociclu

kilocuvânt

kiloelectronvolt

kilogram

kilohertz

kilojoule

kilolitru

kilometru

kiloohm

kilotonă

kilovolt

kilowatt

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Serbo-Croatian

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Serbo-Croatian terms prefixed with kilo-

kilogram

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026

Slovak

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Slovak terms prefixed with kilo-

kilogram

kilometer

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Slovene

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kíːlɔ/

Prefix

kȋlo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Slovene terms prefixed with kilo-

kilometer

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2026

Spanish

Etymology

From French kilo-, irregularly derived from Ancient Greek χίλιοι (khílioi, “one thousand”).

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo- (SI prefix multiplying the unit by 10³)
2. (computing) kibi- (IEC prefix multiplying the unit by 2¹⁰)

Derived terms

Spanish terms prefixed with kilo-

kilobyte

kilocaloría

kilociclo

kilogramo

kilohercio

kilojulio

kilolitro

kilómetro

kilovoltio

kilowatt

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Swedish terms prefixed with kilo-

kilocykler

kilometer

kilowattimme

Further reading

• “kilo-”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• olik

Turkish

Prefix

kilo-

1. kilo-

Derived terms

Turkish terms prefixed with kilo-

kilogram

kilokalori

Further reading

• “kilogram”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu