List of English words containing Q not followed by U

In English, the letter q is usually followed by the letter u, but there are some exceptions. The majority of these are anglicised from Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Inuktitut, or other languages which do not use the English alphabet, with q representing a sound not found in English. For example, in the Chinese pinyin alphabet, qi is pronounced /tʃi/ by an English speaker, as pinyin uses ⟨q⟩ to represent the sound [tɕʰ], which is approximated as [tʃ] in English. In other examples, q represents [q] in standard Arabic, such as in qat, faqir and Qur'ān. In Arabic, the letter ق, traditionally romanised as q, is quite distinct from ك, traditionally romanised as k; for example, قلب /qalb/ means "heart" but كلب /kalb/ means "dog". However, alternative spellings are sometimes accepted which use k (or sometimes c) in place of q; for example, Koran (Qur'ān) and Cairo (al-Qāhira).

67 of the 71 words in this list are nouns, and 66 of the 71 would generally be considered loanwords. However, they are all considered to be naturalised in English according to at least one major dictionary (see References), often because they refer to concepts or societal roles that do not have an accurate equivalent in English. For words to appear here, they must appear in their own entry in a dictionary; words which occur only as part of a longer phrase are not included.

Proper nouns are not included in the list. There are, in addition, many place names and personal names, mostly originating from North Africa, the Middle East or China, that have a q without a u. The most familiar of these are the countries of Iraq and Qatar, along with the derived words Iraqi and Qatari. Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, also has a q which is not directly followed by a u. Qaqortoq, in Greenland, is notable for having three naked qs. Other proper names and acronyms that have attained the status of English words include: Compaq (a computer company), Nasdaq (the US electronic stock market), Qantas (the Australian airline), and QinetiQ (a British technology company). Zaqqum (a tree mentioned in the Qur'an) and Saqqara are proper nouns notable for their use of a double q.

Contents 1 Words 2 Uses in Scrabble 3 See also 4 Further reading 5 Notes 6 References

Words

Unless noted otherwise, all words listed here are assumed to be pluralized by adding -s or -es. References in the "Sources" column relate to the headword in column one; variant spellings are then separately referenced. The sources given are selective, and the absence of a reference to a particular dictionary does not necessarily mean that the word does not appear in that dictionary.

Word	Meaning	Sources	Other forms	Etymology
buqsha	A former Yemeni monetary unit	[L]	Also written bogache	Arabic
burqa	A veiled garment worn by Muslim women	[ODE][LC][C][AHC][OED]	Also written burka, burkha, or burqua	Urdu and Persian burqa, from Arabic burqu`
cinq	The number five, as signified in dice or cards	[ODE][COD][OED]		French cinq, "five"
cinqfoil	A plant of the genus Potentilla, or an ornamental design thereof	[SOED][OED]	Much more commonly written cinquefoil	Middle English, from Latin quinquefolium, from quinque "five" + folium "leaf"
coq	A trimming of cock feathers on a woman's hat	[WI]		French coq, "cockerel"
faqih	An Islamic jurisprudent	[RHW]	Plural faqihs or fuqaha [RHU]	Arabic فقيه.
faqir	A Muslim ascetic	[L]	More commonly written fakir	Arabic فقير "poverty-stricken"
fiqh	Muslim jurisprudence	[ODE]		Arabic فقه, "understanding"
inqilab	A revolution in India or Pakistan	[C]		Arabic , إنقلاب
mbaqanga	A style of South African music	[ODE][C][W]		Zulu umbaqanga, "steamed maize bread"
miqra	The Tanakh, or Hebrew text of the Bible	[WI]		Hebrew מקרא.
muqaddam	A Bangladeshi headman	[C]		Arabic مقدم
nastaliq	An Arabic script used in Persian writings	[OED]	Also written nasta'liq [C], nestaliq [OED], nastaleeq, or shortened to just taliq [OED]	Arabic نستعليق, from naskh + ta`liq
niqab	A veil for the lower-face worn by some Muslim women	[ODE]	Also written niqaab	From Arabic نِقاب
pontacq	A sweet wine from Pontacq	[OED]
qabab	A dish consisting of pieces of seasoned meat	[OED]	More commonly written kebab, kebap, kebob, kibob, kebhav, kephav, kebabie, or kabob	Persian
qabalah	A form of Jewish mysticism	[C][AHC][WI]	More commonly written Kabbalah, and also written Qabala [AHC], Qabbala [WI], Cabalah etc. Derived words include qabalism, qabalist, and qabalistic.	Hebrew קַבָּלָה
qadarite	A member of the Qadariyah	[RHU]
qadariyah	In Islam, adherents of the doctrine of free will	[RHU]	Also written Qadariya [RHU]
qaddish	In Judaism, a prayer of mourning	[C]	More commonly written Kaddish	Hebrew קדיש
qadi	A Muslim judge	[L][C][W][OED][AOX]	Also written qadhi [OED], qaadi, kadi, kazi qaadee or qazi [OED]	Arabic قاضى.
qadiriyah	In Islam, a Sufi order	[RHU]	Also written Qadiriya [RHU]	Arabic القادريه
qaf	Twenty-first letter of the Arabic alphabet	[RHW]	Also written qaph or qap	Arabic ق.
qaid	A Muslim tribal chief	[RHW]	Also written caid or kaid	Arabic قائد "leader", "commander"
qaimaqam	A minor official of the Ottoman Empire	[C][OED]	Also written kaymakam, kaimakam, caimacam, or qaim makam	From Arabic قائم "standing" + مقام "place", meaning "standing in place"
qalamdan	A Persian writing-case	[C]
qalandar	A member of an order of mendicant dervishes	[RHU]	Also written calender, or capitalised
qanat	A type of water supply tunnel found in north Africa and the Middle East	[ODE][C][OED][AOX]	Also written kanat, khanat, kunut, kona, konait, ghanat, or ghundat	Persian, from Arabic qanāt, "channel"
qanun	A type of harp	[OED]	Also written qanon or kanun [OED]	Arabic قانون, rule, principle or mode.
qasida	An Arabian poem of praise or satire	[C][OED][AOX]	Also written qasidah	Arabic قصيدة.
qat	A kind of Arabian shrub used as a narcotic	[L][C][OED]	More commonly written khat, kat or gat	Arabic qāt
qawwal	A person who practises qawwali music	[ODE][C][AOX]
qawwali	Devotional music of the Sufis	[ODE][C][AOX]		Arabic قوٌالی (qawwāli), "loquacious" or "singer"
qepiq	An Azerbaijani unit of currency	[AH]		Azerbaijani qəpik
qere	A marginal reading in the Hebrew Bible	[OED][WI]	Also written qeri [WI] or qre [WI]	Aramaic קְרֵי "[what is] read"
qhat	An obsolete spelling of what	[OED]
qheche	An obsolete spelling of which	[OED]
qhom	An obsolete spelling of whom	[OED]
qhythsontyd	An obsolete spelling of Whitsuntide (the day of Pentecost)	[OED]
qi	In Chinese culture, a physical life force	[ODE][C][AHC][OED]	Commonly written chi or ki	Chinese 氣, 'air'
qiana	A type of nylon	[OED]		Originally a trademark of DuPont, now generic
qibla	The point to which Muslims turn in prayer	[ODE][COD][C][OED][AOX]	Also written qiblah [OED], kiblah, qiblih, kibla or qib'lah [RHU], sometimes capitalised	17th Century Arabic, "the opposite"
qibli	A local Libyan name for the sirocco, a southeasterly Mediterranean wind	[OED]	Also written ghibli	Arabic قبلي "coming from the qibla
qigong	A Chinese system of medical exercises	[ODE][C][AOX]	Also written qi gong, ki gong, or chi kung	Chinese 气功 (simp.)
qin	A classification of Chinese musical instruments	[AOX]		Chinese 琴
qinah	A Hebrew elegy	[WI]	Also written kinah; plural qinot, qinoth	Hebrew קינה
qindar	An Albanian unit of currency, equal to one one-hundredth of a lek	[ODE][L][C]	Plural qindarka [L] or qindars [C]. Also written qintar [L][C][AOX] or quintal	Albanian
qinghaosu	A drug, artemisinin, used to treat malaria	[C]		Chinese 青蒿素.
qipao	A traditional Chinese dress	[OED]	Also written chi pao	Chinese 旗袍.
qirsh	A monetary unit of Saudi Arabia and, formerly, various other countries	[RHU]	Also written qurush, qursh, gursh, girsh or ghirsh
qiviut	The wool of the musk-ox	[OED]		Inuktitut ᕿᕕᐅᖅ
qiyas	An analogy in Sharia, Islamic law	[RHW]		Arabic قياس.
qoph	The nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet	[L][C]	Also written koph	Hebrew קוף
qorma	A type of curry	[Co]	Much more commonly written korma	Farsi→Urdu قورمه
qwerty	A standard English keyboard layout	[ODE][COD][LC][C][AOX][OED]	Plural qwertys or qwerties; also rendered QWERTY	Named after the letters on the top row of keys.
rencq	An obsolete spelling of rank	[OED]
sambuq	A type of Dhow, a small Arabian boat	[OED]		Arabic سنبوك‎
sheqel	A unit of weight originally used in Mesopotamia. The currency of Israel, divided into 100 agorot	[MW]	Plural sheqels or sheqalim; more commonly written shekel	Hebrew שקל, Yiddish ניי-שקל
souq	An Arab marketplace	[ODE][C][OED][AOX]	Also written soq, souk, esouk, suk, sooq, souq, or suq	Arabic سوق (sūq)
talaq	A form of Islamic divorce	[ODE][C][OED]		Arabic talaq from talaqa, "repudiate"
taluq	An Indian estate	[OED]	Also written taluk or talook	Arabic→Urdu تعلقه ta'alluqa, "connection", "relationship"
taluqdar	A person who collects the revenues of a taluq	[OED]	Also written talukdar or talookdar	Arabic→Urdu تعلقدار ta'alluq-dar "landholder", "possessor of an estate", "lord of a manor"
taluqdari	An Indian landholding tenure	[OED]
taqiya	In Islam, the dissimulation of faith displayed for fear of one's life	[RHW]	Also written taqiyah [RHU], or capitalised	Arabic التقية.
taqlid	Acceptance of Muslim orthodoxy	[RHW]		Arabic قْلي.
tariqa	A Sufi method of spiritual development, or a Sufi missionary	[E][AOX]	Also written tariqat [E] or tarika	Arabic طريق.
tranq	A form of sedative	[OED]	Also written trank [OED]	Apocopation from tranquilizer
tsaddiq	In Judaism, a term bestowed upon the righteous.	[C][OED]	Plural tsaddiqs or tsaddiqim; also written tzaddiq [C], tzadik or tzaddik	Hebrew צדיק
umiaq	An open inuit boat	[OSPD4]	Also spelled umiak, umialak, umiac, oomiac or oomiak
waqf	A charitable trust in Islamic law	[ODE][C][OED]	Also written wakf; plural waqf [ODE][C][OED] or waqfs [C][OED]	Arabic, literally "stoppage" from waqafa, "come to a standstill"
yaqona	A Fijian intoxicating beverage, kava	[C][OED]		Fijian yaqona, in which q represents [ŋɡ]

Uses in Scrabble

In many word games, most famously in Scrabble, a player must build a word using a certain set of letters. If a player is obliged to use a q but does not have a u, it may be possible to play words from this list. Not all words in this list are acceptable in Scrabble tournament games. Scrabble tournaments around the world use their own set of words from selected dictionaries which may not contain all the words listed here.

In Scrabble in North America, the number of accepted words changes when the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary is updated every five years – for example in a 2003 interview, John D. Williams, Jr. pointed out that "QI is not good in North American SCRABBLE play, only the rest of the world."^[1] Qi was added to the official North American word list in 2006.^[2] Qi is the most commonly played word in Scrabble tournaments.^[3]

Other words listed in this article, such as suq, umiaq or qiviut, are also acceptable, but since these contain a u, they are less likely to be useful in the situation described.^[4]

See also

• List of words without vowel letters
• Constrained writing

Further reading

• Eckler, A. Ross (1976). "Must You Join the Queue?". Word Ways 9 (2): 113–115. http://digitalcommons.butler.edu/wordways/vol9/iss2/16/. Retrieved 2010-10-19. 
• Quinion, Michael (2003). "Q followed by U". World Wide Words. http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-que.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-19. 
• Quinion, Michael (2009). Why is Q Always Followed by U? Word-perfect Answers to the Most-asked Questions about Language. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-1-846-14184-3. http://www.worldwidewords.org/whyisq.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-19. 
• Scrabble Word Lists Q without U – Parker Brothers, attributed to: Joe Edley; John D. Williams, Jr. (2009). "Chapter 6: Your Fourth-Grade Teacher, Mrs. Kleinfelder, Lied to you: You Can Have Words with a Q and No U". Everything Scrabble: Third Edition. pp. 56–58. ISBN 978-1416561750. 

Notes

• [AH]: The American Heritage Dictionary (4 ed.). Dell. 2001. ISBN 0-440-23701-7. 
• [AHC]: American Heritage College Dictionary (4 ed.). Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-83595-4. 
• [AOX]: "Ask Oxford". http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/qwithoutu. Retrieved 2009-07-27. 
• [C]: The Chambers Dictionary (9 ed.). Chambers. 2003. ISBN 0-550-10105-5. 
• [Co]: Collins English Dictionary (3 ed.). HarperCollins. 1994. ISBN 0-004-70678-1. 
• [COD]: Concise Oxford Dictionary (8 ed.). Clarendon. 1990. ISBN 0-198-61200-1. 
• [E]: "Microsoft Encarta online dictionary". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1257007744081345. Retrieved 2006-05-29. 
• [L]: The Longman Dictionary of the English Language (5 ed.). Longman. 1988. ISBN 0-582-55511-6. 
• [LC]: The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (4 ed.). Longman. 2003. ISBN 0=582-77649-X. 
• [MW]: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11 ed.). Merriam-Webster. 2003. ISBN 0-877-79809-5. 
• [MWO]: "Merriam-Webster online dictionary". http://www.merriam-webster.com/. Retrieved 2006-05-29. 
• [ODE]: Oxford Dictionary of English (2 ed.). Oxford UP. 2003. ISBN 0-19-861347-4. 
• [OED]: Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford UP. 2003. ISBN 0-198-61347-4. 
• [OSPD4]: The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (4 ed.). Merriam-Webster. 2005. ISBN 0-87779-929-6. 
• [RHU]: Random House Unabridged Dictionary (2 ed.). Random House. 1998. ISBN 0-517-19931-9. 
• [RHW]: Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2 ed.). Random House. 2005. ISBN 0-375-42599-3. 
• [SOED]: The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (3 ed.). Clarendon. 1992. ISBN 0-198-61294-X. 
• [TWL]: Official Tournament and Club Word List (2 ed.). Merriam-Webster. 2006. ISBN 0-877-79635-1. 
• [W]: Random House Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Random House Reference. 2000. ISBN 0-375-42560-8. 
• [WI]: Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster. 2002. ISBN 0-87779-201-1. 

References