View source for Q

{{short description|17th letter of the Latin alphabet}}
{{About|the letter|other uses|Q (disambiguation)|and|Queue (disambiguation)}}{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}{{Technical reasons|Q#|the programming language|Q Sharp}}
{{pp-move-indef|small=yes}}
{{Infobox grapheme
|name=Q
|letter=Q q
|script=[[Latin script]]
|type=[[Alphabet]]
|typedesc=ic and [[logographic]]
|language=[[Greek language]]<br>[[Latin language]]
|phonemes=([[Q#Use in writing systems|Table]])<br>{{IPAc-en|'|k|juː}}
|unicode=U+0051, U+0071
|alphanumber=17
|number=
|fam1=<hiero>O34</hiero><hiero>V24</hiero>
|fam2=[[File:Proto-semiticQ-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Proto-Sinaitic Qup]]
|fam3=[[File:Protoquf.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px]]
|fam4=[[File:Phoenician_qoph.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Phoenician Qoph]]
|fam5=[[𐌒]]
|usageperiod=Unknown to present
|children={{bull}}[[Ƣ]]<br>{{bull}}[[Ɋ]]<br>{{bull}}[[℺]]<br>{{bull}}[[Ԛ]]
|sisters=[[Phi|Φ]]<br>[[Ф]]<br>[[Qoph|ק<br>ق<br>ܩ]]<br>[[ࠒ]]<br>[[𐎖]]<br>[[ቀ]]<br>[[wikt:Փ|Փ]] [[wikt:փ|փ]]<br>[[wikt:Ֆ|Ֆ]] [[wikt:ֆ|ֆ]]
|equivalents=
|associates=[[List of Latin-script digraphs#Q|q(x)]]
|direction=Left-to-right
|image=File:Latin_letter_Q.svg
|imageclass=skin-invert-image
}}
{{Latin letter info|q}}
'''Q''', or '''q''', is the seventeenth [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] of the [[Latin alphabet]], used in the [[English alphabet|modern English alphabet]], the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|k|j|uː}}, most commonly spelled [[English alphabet#Letter names|''cue'']], but also ''kew'', ''kue'', and ''que''.<ref>"Q", ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' 2nd edition (1989). <br>''Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1993) lists "cue" and "kue" as current. [[James Joyce]] used "kew"; it and "que" remain in use.</ref>

==History==
{| class="wikitable"
! Egyptian hieroglyph<br/>wḏ
! Phoenician<br/>[[Qoph]]
! Western Greek<br />[[Koppa (letter)|Koppa]]
! Etruscan<br>Q
! Latin<br/>Q
|--- align=center
|<hiero>V24</hiero>
| [[Image:PhoenicianQ-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|x30px]]
| [[Image:Greek Koppa normal.svg|class=skin-invert-image|x30px]]
| [[Image:EtruscanQ-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|x30px]]
| [[File:Capitalis monumentalis Q.SVG|class=skin-invert-image|x30px|Latin Q]]
|}

The [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] sound value of [[Qoph|Qôp]] was {{IPA|/q/}} ([[voiceless uvular stop]]), and the form of the letter could have been based on the eye of a needle, a knot, or even a monkey with its tail hanging down.<ref>Travers Wood, Henry Craven Ord Lanchester, ''A Hebrew Grammar'', 1913, p. 7. A. B. Davidson, ''Hebrew Primer and Grammar'', 2000, [https://books.google.com/books?id=L3e0nqF9_1MC&pg=RA1-PA4 p. 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204004048/https://books.google.ch/books?id=L3e0nqF9_1MC&pg=RA1-PA4 |date=2017-02-04 }}. The meaning is doubtful. "Eye of a needle" has been suggested, and also "knot" Harvard Studies in Classical Philology vol. 45.</ref><ref>Isaac Taylor, ''History of the Alphabet: Semitic Alphabets, Part 1'', 2003: "The old explanation, which has again been revived by Halévy, is that it denotes an 'ape,' the character ''Q'' being taken to represent an ape with its tail hanging down. It may also be referred to a Talmudic root which would signify an 'aperture' of some kind, as the 'eye of a needle,' ... Lenormant adopts the more usual explanation that the word means a 'knot'.</ref><ref name=":4"/> {{IPA|/q/}} is a sound common to Semitic languages, but not found in many European languages.{{efn|See references at [[Voiceless uvular stop#Occurrence]]}} In common with other glyphs derived from the [[Proto-Sinaitic script]], the letter has been suggested to have its roots in [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Samuel|first1=Stehman Haldeman|title=Elements of Latin Pronunciation: For the Use of Students in Language, Law, Medicine, Zoology, Botany, and the Sciences Generally in which Latin Words are Used|date=1851|publisher=J.B. Lippincott|pages=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J4UAAAAAYAAJ&q=Qof+Qoppa&pg=PA56|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2021-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816024443/https://books.google.com/books?id=J4UAAAAAYAAJ&q=Qof+Qoppa&pg=PA56|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Hamilton|first1=Gordon James|title=The Origins of the West Semitic Alphabet in Egyptian Scripts|date=2006|publisher=[[Catholic Biblical Association of America]]|isbn=9780915170401|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LdANAAAAYAAJ&q=Egyptian+Qoppa|access-date=2020-09-16|archive-date=2022-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221011159/https://books.google.com/books?id=LdANAAAAYAAJ&q=Egyptian+Qoppa|url-status=live}}</ref>

In an early form of [[Ancient Greek]], [[Koppa (letter)|qoppa]] (Ϙ) probably came to represent several [[Labialized velar consonant|labialized velar]] [[stop consonant|stop]]s, among them {{IPA|/kʷ/}} and {{IPA|/kʷʰ/}}.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Woodard|first1=Roger G.|title=The Textualization of the Greek Alphabet|date=2014-03-24|pages=303|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107729308|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pxUOAwAAQBAJ&q=Greek+Qoppa+labiovelar&pg=PA303|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2022-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221011152/https://books.google.com/books?id=pxUOAwAAQBAJ&q=Greek+Qoppa+labiovelar&pg=PA303|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of later sound shifts, these sounds in Greek changed to {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/pʰ/}} respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ling.upenn.edu/~rnoyer/courses/51/GreekSoundChanges.pdf|title=Principal Sound Changes from PIE to Greek|last=Noyer|first=Rolf|website=University of Pennsylvania Department of Linguistics|access-date=2017-02-03|archive-date=2017-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204004339/http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~rnoyer/courses/51/GreekSoundChanges.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Therefore, qoppa was transformed into two letters: qoppa, which [[Greek numerals|stood for]] the number 90,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/alphabet.html|title=The Origin of the Alphabet|last=Boeree|first=C. George|website=Shippensburg University|publisher=[[Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania]]|access-date=2017-02-03|archive-date=2016-12-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204204050/http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/alphabet.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Phi (letter)|phi]] (Φ), which stood for the aspirated sound {{IPA|/pʰ/}} that came to be pronounced {{IPA|/f/}} in [[Modern Greek]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Arvaniti |first=Amalia |year=1999 |title=Standard Modern Greek |url=https://www.kent.ac.uk/cultures-languages |journal=[[Journal of the International Phonetic Association]] |volume=2 |issue=29 |pages=167–172 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222353/http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/ell/staff/amalia-arvaniti/docs/Illustrations%20%20of%20the%20IPA%20-%20Modern%20Greek.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-03 |doi=10.1017/S0025100300006538|s2cid=145606058 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DUBAAAAAQBAJ&q=qoppa+phi+split&pg=PA54|title=Ancient Scripts and Phonological Knowledge|last=Miller|first=D. Gary|date=1994-09-06|publisher=[[John Benjamins Publishing]]|isbn=9789027276711|pages=54–56|language=en|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2021-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818022153/https://books.google.com/books?id=DUBAAAAAQBAJ&q=qoppa+phi+split&pg=PA54|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Etruscans]] used Q in conjunction with V to represent {{IPA|/kʷ/}}, and this usage was copied by the Romans with the rest of their alphabet.<ref name=":4" /> In the earliest [[Latin]] inscriptions, the letters C, K and Q were all used to represent the two sounds {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, which were not differentiated in writing. Of these, Q was used before a rounded vowel (e.g. {{angbr|EQO}} 'ego'), K before /a/ (e.g. {{angbr|KALENDIS}} 'calendis'), and C elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eNSqBgAAQBAJ&q=%22latin%22+inscriptions+%22C%22+%22Q%22+%22K%22&pg=PA482|title=Edinburgh Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome|last=Bispham|first=Edward|date=2010-03-01|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|isbn=9780748627141|pages=482|language=en|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2022-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221011155/https://books.google.com/books?id=eNSqBgAAQBAJ&q=%22latin%22+inscriptions+%22C%22+%22Q%22+%22K%22&pg=PA482|url-status=live}}</ref> Later, the use of C (and its variant G) replaced most usages of K and Q: Q survived only to represent /k/ when immediately followed by a /w/ sound.<ref>{{citation
|title=New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin
|first=Andrew L.
|last=Sihler
|edition=illustrated
|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
|year=1995
|location=New York
|isbn=0-19-508345-8
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IeHmqKY2BqoC
|pages=21
|access-date=2015-12-24
|archive-date=2016-11-09
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109231225/https://books.google.com/books?id=IeHmqKY2BqoC
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

In Turkey between 1928 and 2013 the use of the letter Q, alongside [[X]] and [[W]], was banned from official government documents, such as street signs and brochures. The letter forms part of the [[Kurdish alphabets|Kurdish alphabet]] but is not present in [[Turkish language|Turkish]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Ban on Kurdish letters to be lifted with democracy package - Turkey News|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ban-on-kurdish-letters-to-be-lifted-with-democracy-package-55254|access-date=2022-01-17|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=27 September 2013 |language=en|archive-date=2022-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117020305/https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ban-on-kurdish-letters-to-be-lifted-with-democracy-package-55254|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Typographic variants ===
[[File:Q typographic styles.svg|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|The five most common typographic presentations of the capital letter Q]]
[[File:Champfleury letter Q illustration Geoffroy Tory (1529).png|thumb|A long-tailed Q as drawn by French typographer [[Geoffroy Tory]] in his 1529 book, ''Champfleury'']]
[[File:Base columna trajana.jpg|thumb|The printed long-tailed Q was inspired by ancient [[Roman square capitals]]: this long-tailed Q, used here in the Latin word "[[SPQR|POPVLVSQVE]]", was carved into [[Trajan's column]] {{Circa}} [[AD]] 113.]]
[[File:Short tailed Q vs long tailed Q text example.svg|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|A short trilingual text showing the proper use of the long- and short-tailed Q. The short-tailed Q is only used when the word is shorter than the tail; the long-tailed Q is even used in all-capitals text.<ref name=":3" />{{rp|77}}]]

==== Uppercase "Q" ====
Depending on the [[typeface]] used to [[Typesetting|typeset]] the letter Q, the letter's [[Descender|tail]] may either [[bisection|bisect]] its [[Typeface anatomy#Strokes|bowl]] as in [[Helvetica]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IW9MAQAAQBAJ&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA189|title=The Fundamentals of Typography: Second Edition|last1=Ambrose|first1=Gavin|last2=Harris|first2=Paul|date=2011-08-31|publisher=[[A & C Black]]|isbn=9782940411764|page=24|language=en|quote=...the bisecting tail of the Helvetica 'Q'.|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2021-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819020149/https://books.google.com/books?id=IW9MAQAAQBAJ&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA189|url-status=live}}</ref> meet the bowl as in [[Univers]], or lie completely outside the bowl as in [[PT Sans]]. In writing [[block letters]], bisecting tails are the fastest to write, as they require less precision. All three styles are considered equally valid, with most serif typefaces having a Q with a tail that meets the circle, while sans-serif typefaces are more equally split between those with bisecting tails and those without.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yBytanUmuCoC&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA110|title=Lettering & Type: Creating Letters and Designing Typefaces|last1=Willen|first1=Bruce|last2=Strals|first2=Nolen|date=2009-09-23|publisher=Princeton Architectural Press|isbn=9781568987651|pages=110|language=en|quote=The bowl of the Q is typically similar to the bowl of the O, although not always identical. The style and design of the Q's tail is often a distinctive feature of a typeface.|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2021-08-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815232906/https://books.google.com/books?id=yBytanUmuCoC&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA110|url-status=live}}</ref> Typefaces with a disconnected Q tail, while uncommon, have existed since at least 1529.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6sidSDlif48C&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA330|title=The Palaeotypography of the French Renaissance: Selected Papers on Sixteenth-century Typefaces|last=Vervliet|first=Hendrik D. L.|author-link=H. D. L. Vervliet|date=2008-01-01|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|BRILL]]|isbn=978-9004169821|pages=58 (a) 54 (b)|language=en|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2022-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221011132/https://books.google.com/books?id=6sidSDlif48C&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA330|url-status=live}}</ref> A common method among [[Type design|type designers]] to create the shape of the Q is by simply adding a tail to the letter O.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xjRBBAAAQBAJ&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA50|title=Exploring Typography|last=Rabinowitz|first=Tova|date=2015-01-01|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=9781305464810|pages=264|language=en|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2022-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221011130/https://books.google.com/books?id=xjRBBAAAQBAJ&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3_oBQAAQBAJ&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA97|title=Adrian Frutiger – Typefaces: The Complete Works|last1=Osterer|first1=Heidrun|last2=Stamm|first2=Philipp|date=2014-05-08|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=9783038212607|pages=97 (a) 183 (b) 219 (c)|language=en|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2022-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221011155/https://books.google.com/books?id=X3_oBQAAQBAJ&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA97|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Serif#Old-style|Old-style serif]] fonts, such as [[Garamond]], may contain two uppercase Qs: one with a short tail to be used in short words, and another with a long tail to be used in long words.<ref name=":2" /> Some early [[Font|metal type fonts]] included up to 3 different Qs: a short-tailed Q, a long-tailed Q, and a long-tailed Q-u [[Typographic ligature|ligature]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/printingtypesthe01updi|title=Printing types, their history, forms, and use; a study in survivals|last=Updike|first=Daniel Berkeley|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1922|isbn=1584560568|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> This print tradition was alive and well until the 19th century, when long-tailed Qs fell out of favor; even recreations of classic typefaces such as [[Caslon]] began being distributed with only short Q tails.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wn4AgAAQBAJ&q=long+tailed+Q+typography&pg=PT44|title=Type: The Secret History of Letters|last=Loxley|first=Simon|date=2006-03-31|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9780857730176|language=en|quote=The uppercase roman Q...has a very long tail, but this has been modified and reduced on versions produced in the following centuries.|access-date=2020-11-19|archive-date=2022-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221011140/https://books.google.com/books?id=_wn4AgAAQBAJ&q=long+tailed+Q+typography&pg=PT44|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> American [[Typography|typographer]] [[D. B. Updike]]<!-- I have formatted his name like this because that is the name he used in the book, as his signature to the introduction and on the cover. It also appears on online listings under this author name. -->, who was known to disapprove of the long-tailed Q, celebrated their demise in his 1922 book ''Printing Types'', claiming that Renaissance printers made their Q tails longer and longer simply to "outdo each other".<ref name=":3" /> [[Latin-language]] words, which are much more likely than English words to contain "Q" as their first letter, have also been cited as the reason for their existence.<ref name=":3" /> The long-tailed Q had fallen out of use with the advent of early [[digital typography]], as many early digital fonts could not choose different glyphs based on the word that the glyph was in, but it has seen something of a comeback with the advent of [[OpenType]] fonts and [[LaTeX]], both of which can automatically typeset the long-tailed Q when it is called for and the short-tailed Q when it is not.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/210192/how-to-force-a-long-tailed-q-in-eb-garamond|title=How to force a long-tailed Q in EB Garamond|last=Fischer|first=Ulrike|date=2014-11-02|website=TeX Stack Exchange|access-date=2017-02-03|archive-date=2017-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204003733/http://tex.stackexchange.com/questions/210192/how-to-force-a-long-tailed-q-in-eb-garamond|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.typography.com/faq/157|title=What are "Stylistic Sets?"|website=Typography.com|publisher=Hoefler & Co.|language=en|access-date=2017-02-03|archive-date=2017-02-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204084944/http://www.typography.com/faq/question.php?faqID=157|url-status=live}}</ref>

Owing to the allowable variation between letters, Q,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SudnyGqZ5VAC&q=q+tail+typography&pg=PA31|title=Mastering Type: The Essential Guide to Typography for Print and Web Design|last=Bosler|first=Denise|date=2012-05-16|publisher=F+W Media, Inc.|isbn=978-1440313714|pages=31|language=en|quote="Letters that contain truly individual parts [are] S, ... Q..."}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> like  [[Ampersand|{{Char|&}}]], is often cited as a letter that gives type designers a greater opportunity for  [[Self-expression values|self-expression]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-1/type-families/letter-q|title=The Letter Q|last=Haley|first=Allan|website=Fonts.com|publisher=[[Monotype Imaging|Monotype Imaging Corporation]]|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-03|archive-date=2017-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203164213/https://www.fonts.com/content/learning/fontology/level-1/type-families/letter-q|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Identifont]] is an automatic typeface identification service that identifies typefaces by asking questions about their appearance and later asks about the Q tail if the "sans-serif" option is chosen.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.identifont.com/identify?2+%20+9Z|title=2: Q Shape|website=Identifont|access-date=2017-02-01|archive-date=2017-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203164207/http://www.identifont.com/identify?2+%20+9Z|url-status=live}}</ref> In the Identifont database, the distribution of Q tails is:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.identifont.com/identify?3+.+1QY+7AG+9Z|title=3: $ style|website=Identifont|access-date=2017-02-02|archive-date=2017-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203163504/http://www.identifont.com/identify?3+.+1QY+7AG+9Z|url-status=live}} To get the numbers in the table, click Question 1 (serif or sans-serif?) or Question 2 (Q shape) and change the value. They appear under X possible fonts.</ref><div align="center">
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:300px"
!Q tail type
![[Serif]]
![[Sans-serif]]
|-
|Bisecting
|1461
|2719
|-
|Meets bowl
|3363
|4521
|-
|Outside bowl
|271
|397
|-
|[[Cursive|"2" shape]] (<math>\mathcal{Q}</math>)
|304
|428
|-
|Inside bowl
|129
|220
|-
!Total
|5528
|8285
|}
</div>

{{Multiple image
| align = center
| direction = vertical
| width = 300
| image1 = Q tails (serif) pie chart.svg
| alt1 = Pie chart showing the proportion of different style Q tails in serif fonts to the total.
| image2 = Q tails (sans-serif) pie chart.svg
| alt2 = Pie chart showing the proportion of different style Q tails in sans-serif fonts to the total.
}}

Some type designers prefer one "Q" design over another: [[Adrian Frutiger]], famous for the [[Frutiger (typeface)|airport typeface]] that bears his name, remarked that most of his typefaces feature a Q tail that meets the bowl and then extends horizontally.<ref name=":1" /> Frutiger considered such Qs to make for more "harmonious" and "gentle" typefaces.<ref name=":1" /> "Q" often makes the list of their favorite letters; for example, Sophie Elinor Brown, designer of Strato,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=Kerrie |date=2014-09-02 |title=Font of the day: Strato |url=https://www.creativebloq.com/typography/font-day-strato-91412811 |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=Creative Bloq |publisher=[[Future plc]] |location=[[Bath, Somerset]] |language=en}}</ref> has listed "Q" as being her favorite letter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/01/14-typographers-introduce-us-to-their-favorite-letterforms/|title=We asked 15 typographers to describe their favorite letterforms. Here's what they told us.|last=Heller|first=Stephen|date=2016-01-07|publisher=[[Wired (magazine)#Website|WIRED]]|access-date=2017-02-03|archive-date=2017-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203163523/https://www.wired.com/2016/01/14-typographers-introduce-us-to-their-favorite-letterforms/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.typographher.com/blog/2016/1/27/wired-asked-15-typographers-to-introduce-us-to-their-favorite-glyphs|title=Wired asked 15 Typographers to introduce us to their favorite glyphs.|last=Phillips|first=Nicole Arnett|date=2016-01-27|newspaper=Typograph.Her|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-03|archive-date=2017-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203164623/http://www.typographher.com/blog/2016/1/27/wired-asked-15-typographers-to-introduce-us-to-their-favorite-glyphs|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Lowercase "q" ====
[[File:Q and g comparison.svg|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|289x289px|A comparison of the [[glyph]]s of {{angbr|q}} and {{angbr|g}}]]
The lowercase "q" is usually seen as a lowercase "o" or "c" with a descender (i.e., downward vertical tail) extending from the right side of the bowl, with or without a swash (i.e., flourish), or even a reversed lowercase [[p]]. The "q"'s descender is usually typed without a swash due to the major style difference typically seen between the descenders of the "g" (a loop) and "q" (vertical). When handwritten, or as part of a handwriting font, the descender of the "q" sometimes finishes with a rightward swash to distinguish it from the letter "g" (or, particularly in mathematics, from the digit "9").

==Use in writing systems==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+ Pronunciation of {{angbr|q}} or {{angbr|qu}} by language
! Orthography
! Spelling
! Phonemes
|-
! [[Afar language|Afar]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|ʕ}}
|-
! [[Albanian orthography|Albanian]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|cç}}
|-
! [[Azerbaijani alphabet|Azeri]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|ɡ}}
|-
! {{nwr|[[Standard Chinese]]}} ([[Pinyin]])
! {{angbr|q}}
|{{IPAslink|t͡ɕʰ}}
|-
! [[English orthography|English]]
! {{angbr|qu}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|w}}/
|-
! [[Fijian language|Fijian]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|ᵑɡ}}
|-
! [[French orthography|French]]
! {{angbr|qu}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}/
|-
! [[Galician alphabet|Galician]]
! {{angbr|qu}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}/
|-
! [[German orthography|German]]
! {{angbr|qu}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|v}}/
|-
! [[Hadza language|Hadza]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|!}}
|-
! [[Indonesian orthography|Indonesian]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| /{{IPA link|q}}/~/{{IPA link|k}}/
|-
! [[Italian orthography|Italian]]
! {{angbr|qu}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|w}}/
|-
! [[Kʼicheʼ language|K'iche]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|qʰ}}
|-
! [[Kiowa language|Kiowa]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|kʼ}}
|-
! [[Kurdish orthography|Kurdish]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|q}}
|-
! [[Maltese orthography|Maltese]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Menominee language|Menominee]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Mi'kmaq (language)|Mi'kmaq]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|x}}
|-
! [[Mohegan-Pequot language|Mohegan-Pequot]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|kʷ}}
|-
! [[Nuxalk language|Nuxalk]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|qʰ}}
|-
! [[Portuguese orthography|Portuguese]]
! {{angbr|qu}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|w}}/ or {{IPAslink|k}}
|-
! [[Sasak language|Sasak]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Somali orthography|Somali]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|q}}~{{IPAslink|ɢ}}
|-
! [[Sotho orthography|Sotho]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|!kʼ}}
|-
! [[Spanish orthography|Spanish]]
! {{angbr|qu}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}/
|-
! [[Swedish orthography|Swedish]]
! {{angbr|qv}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|v}}/ (pre-1900 spelling, still survives in proper names)
|-
! [[Uzbek alphabet|Uzbek]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|q}}
|-
! [[Vietnamese orthography|Vietnamese]]
! {{angbr|qu}}
| /{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|w}}/
|-
! [[Võro alphabet|Võro]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|ʔ}}
|-
! [[Wolof alphabet|Wolof]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|qː}}
|-
! [[Xhosa alphabet|Xhosa]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|!}}
|-
! [[Zulu alphabet|Zulu]]
! {{angbr|q}}
| {{IPAslink|!}}
|}

===English===
In [[English language|English]], the [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] {{angbr|qu}} most often denotes the cluster {{IPAc-en|k|w}}; however, in borrowings from French, it represents {{IPAc-en|k}}, as in 'plaque'. See the [[list of English words containing Q not followed by U]]. Q is the [[Letter frequency|second least frequently used letter]] in the English language (after [[Z]]), with a frequency of just 0.1% in words. Q has the fourth fewest English words where it is the first letter, after [[X]], [[Z]], and [[Y]].

===Other languages===
In most European languages written in the Latin script, such as [[Romance language|Romance]] and [[Germanic languages]], {{angbr|q}} appears almost exclusively in the digraph {{angbr|qu}}. In [[French language|French]], [[Occitan language|Occitan]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], {{angbr|qu}} represents {{IPA|/k/}} or {{IPA|/kw/}}; in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], it represents {{IPA|/k/}}. {{angbr|qu}} replaces {{angbr|[[c]]}} for {{IPA|/k/}} before front vowels {{angbr|i}} and {{angbr|e}}, since in those languages {{angbr|c}} represents a fricative or affricate before front vowels. In [[Italian language|Italian]], {{angbr|qu}} represents {{IPA|[kw]}} (where {{IPA|[w]}} is the [[semivowel]] allophone of {{IPA|/u/}}). In [[Albanian language|Albanian]], Q represents {{IPA|/c/}}, as in '''Sh''q''ip'''.

The letter is often not used often or at all in other languages, The letter is not officially part of the [[Cornish language|Cornish]] ([[Standard Written Form]]), [[Estonian orthography|Estonian]], [[Icelandic alphabet|Icelandic]], [[Irish alphabet|Irish]], [[Latvian alphabet|Latvian]], [[Lithuanian orthography|Lithuanian]], [[Polish orthography|Polish]], [[Gaj's Latin alphabet|Serbo-Croatian]], [[Scottish Gaelic orthography|Scottish Gaelic]], [[Slovene alphabet|Slovenian]], [[Turkish alphabet|Turkish]], or [[Welsh alphabet|Welsh]] alphabets. However, In some of them, It may be found in borrowings.

{{angbr|q}} has a wide variety of other pronunciations in some European languages and in non-European languages that have adopted the Latin alphabet.

===Other systems===
The [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] uses {{angbr IPA|q}} for the [[voiceless uvular stop]].

==Other uses==
{{main article|Q (disambiguation)}}
*The capital letter Q is used as the currency symbol for the [[Guatemalan quetzal]].
*The [[Roman numeral]] Q is sometimes used to represent the number 500,000.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedintro0000gord | url-access=registration | quote=roman numerals. | title=Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy | publisher=[[University of California Press]] | date=1983 | access-date=3 October 2015 | author=Gordon, Arthur E. | pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedintro0000gord/page/44 44]| isbn=9780520038981 }}</ref>

==Related characters==
<!-- Please only list characters (symbols in a writing system, but not just convenience code points in Unicode) that are actually related in terms of origin to the letter that is the topic of this article. Characters that merely look subjectively similar need not apply. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources before adding more. -->

===Descendants and related characters in the Latin alphabet===
*Q with [[diacritic]]s: [[ʠ]] [[Ɋ|Ɋ ɋ]] [[wikt:q̃|q̃]]
*Japanese linguistics: Small capital q ([[ꞯ (disambiguation)|ꞯ]])<ref>{{Citation|title=L2/15-241: Proposal to encode Latin small capital letter Q|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15241-small-cap-q.pdf|date=2015-10-10|first=Severin|last=Barmeier|access-date=2018-06-19|archive-date=2019-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614230138/http://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15241-small-cap-q.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and modifier letter capital q (ꟴ)<ref name="L220251">{{Cite web|title=L2/20-251: Unicode request for modifier Latin capital letters|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20251-mod-latin.pdf|date=2020-09-25|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Craig|last2=Cornelius}}</ref>
*𐞥 Modifier letter small q is used as a [[International Phonetic Alphabet#Superscript IPA|superscript IPA letter]]<ref name="L220252">{{Cite web|title=L2/20-252R: Unicode request for IPA modifier-letters (a), pulmonic|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20252r-mod-ipa-a.pdf|date=2020-11-08|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Michael|last2=Ashby}}</ref>
*Gha: [[Ƣ|Ƣ ƣ]]

===Ancestors and siblings in other alphabets===
*𐤒: [[Phoenician alphabet|Semitic]] letter [[Qoph]], from which the following symbols originally derive:
**Ϙ ϙ: [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] letter [[Koppa (letter)|Koppa]]
***𐌒: [[Old Italic script|Old Italic]] Q, which is the ancestor of modern Latin Q
***Ԛ ԛ: [[Cyrillic]] letter [[Qa (Cyrillic)|Qa]]

===Derived signs, symbols and abbreviations===
*℺: rotated capital Q, a [[signature mark]]
*[[Ꝗ|Ꝗ ꝗ]], Ꝙ ꝙ: Various forms of Q were used for medieval [[scribal abbreviation]]s<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06027-n3027-medieval.pdf|title=L2/06-027: Proposal to add Medievalist characters to the UCS|date=2006-01-30|first1=Michael|last1=Everson|first2=Peter|last2=Baker|first3=António|last3=Emiliano|first4=Florian|last4=Grammel|first5=Odd Einar|last5=Haugen|first6=Diana|last6=Luft|first7=Susana|last7=Pedro|first8=Gerd|last8=Schumacher|first9=Andreas|last9=Stötzner|access-date=2018-03-24|archive-date=2018-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919051622/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06027-n3027-medieval.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Other representations==
===Computing <span class="anchor" id="Computing codes"></span>===
{{charmap
| 0051 | 0071 | FF31 | FF51 | name1 = Latin Capital Letter Q | name2 = Latin Small Letter Q | name3 = FULLWIDTH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Q | name4 = FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER Q
| map1 = [[EBCDIC]] family | map1char1 = D8 | map1char2 = 98
| map2 = [[ASCII]]{{efn|Also for encodings based on ASCII, including the DOS, Windows, ISO-8859 and Macintosh families of encodings.}} | map2char1 = 51 | map2char2 = 71
}}

===Other===
{{Letter other reps
|NATO=Quebec
|Morse= – – · –
|Character=Q
|Braille=⠟
|fingerspelling=Q
}}
{{clear}}

== See also ==
* {{Annotated link |List of English words containing Q not followed by U}}
* {{Annotated link |Mind your Ps and Qs}}
* {{Annotated link |Q factor}}
* {{Annotated link |Q Sharp|Q#}}
* {{Annotated link |QAnon}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Commons-inline|Q}}
*{{Wiktionary-inline|Q}}
*{{Wiktionary-inline|q}}

{{Latin alphabet|Q|}}

[[Category:ISO basic Latin letters]]