Words that Start with Q

By the time you’re teaching children words that start with Q, they already have a good vocabulary. They’ll know plenty of words that begin with letters like A and G.

Even so; a comprehensive vocabulary plays such an important role in language development that it’s best to keep on teaching new words. Over time, they can help children communicate effectively.

A vast vocabulary can enhance communication skills as well as boost confidence. This makes it all the more important for a child to learn words that start with Q. The more words in their mind’s word bank, the better they can communicate.

Words can describe a variety of feelings, thoughts, and ideas. A child can only correctly express themselves and convey a message when they know the right words.

Moreover, when a child is able to effectively get their thoughts and ideas across to the other person, it fills them with confidence. It is important for children to be confident in themselves from an early age, as it pushes them to trust in their abilities.

With this confidence, children are able to interact with new people, learn new ideas, and gain more knowledge.

Not only this, but children also tend to be good at understanding others when they have good communication skills. This results in them being more empathetic towards others’ feelings and opinions.

Now that we know the importance of having a rich vocabulary let’s have a detailed look at words that start with Q. In this post, we will discuss all that a child needs to know about the letter Q and the words beginning and containing it.

Pronouncing Words that Start With Q

Q is one of those letters with two different sounds. Pronouncing different words in the English alphabet is already confusing enough and hard to learn for kids.

However, it can be a greater challenge in cases like that of the letter Q. That’s because the letter K just adds to the confusion because it sounds quite similar.

There are different pronunciations of the letter Q. The first one makes the same sound as the word ‘cue’. This sounds something like a blend of the /k/ sound with the blend of the sound of the letter /u/ or some refer to this pronunciation as a blend of sounds of letters K and W.

You can easily notice this sound in words like a queen. The other sound that it makes in some words is that of /qwah/. At times, some words that start with Q also just make the /K/ sound without being followed by the /U/ or /W/ sound.

The sound can also vary based on the position of Q in a word. For instance, let us take the example of the three words: queen, equal and antique.

Queen is one of the words that start with Q and has the /KW/ or /cue/ sound. The second word, equal, contains the letter Q in the middle and makes the same /KW/ or /cue/ sound.

On the other hand, the third word, antique, has the letter Q towards the end. This makes a /K/ sound that is not followed by the sound of the letter W.

Interesting fact: Words, such as quay, have a different pronunciation than that of queen. Some words do not follow the above-mentioned general rule of pronunciation.

Exercise #1

Say the following words out loud and identify the kind of sound the letter Q makes. There are some words that start with Q while others contain the letter somewhere in the beginning, middle, or towards the end.

1. Quail
2. Quart
3. Clique
4. Query
5. Qualify
6. Liquor
7. Acquire
8. Aqueous
9. Oblique
10. Quiz

Answers

1. It makes the /KW/ sound at the beginning of the word
2. It makes the /KW/ sound at the beginning of the word
3. It makes the /K/ sound towards the end of the word
4. It makes the /KW/ sound at the beginning of the word
5. It makes the /KW/ sound at the beginning of the word
6. It makes the /K/ sound in the middle of the word
7. It makes the /KW/ sound in the middle of the word
8. It makes the /KW/ sound in the middle of the word
9. It makes the /K/ sound at the end of the word
10. It makes the /KW/ sound at the beginning of the word

The Letter Q – List of Words

The letter Q is a challenging one for children as well as adults. This is because it can be quite hard to find a lot of words that start with Q. However, that is no reason to give up on the interesting letter.

Although the list of words is short, there are still some interesting and unique words that either start with Q or contain Q. Here are some words that start with Q for kids:

Beginner Words that Start With Q – Preschool Vocabulary

Q words are difficult for children to learn because they may misspell the words, mistaking the ‘Q’ for a ‘K.’ Therefore, it’s best to introduce shorter and simpler words that start with Q to preschoolers.

• Quit: To give up or stop doing something
• Quack: The sound that a duck makes
• Quiz: A short list of questions
• Quick: Someone or something that is fast
• Quiet: The opposite of noise

Easy and Meaningful Words that Start With Q – Lower Elementary Vocabulary

On average, a lower elementary school student is old enough to understand the meanings of certain words. However, it is best to introduce easy, meaningful Q words as they have just moved on to learning spellings and meanings of words.

• Quart: The one-fourth part of a water/liquid gallon
• Quarter: A one-fourth part of anything
• Quarrel: A verbal fight or argument
• Quip: A short and quick joke
• Question: A statement that has a potential answer
• Quicken: To speed up the pace of something
• Queue: People waiting in line for something
• Quill: The wing or tail feather of a bird
• Quench: To put off, used for fire
• Quantity: The amount of something

Upper Elementary Q Words

The third, fourth, and fifth grades of elementary school teach students a lot of new concepts like adjectives or fractions for different subjects. Children can have a hard time learning these, which is why we provide printable worksheets to help them understand better.

Nevertheless, this is the best time to add new words to their vocabulary. Here are a few upper elementary words that start with Q.

• Quibble: The act of arguing of minor details
• Quell: To quiet or put an end to something
• Qualm: A disturbing feeling of sickness or worry
• Quicksand: A mixture of sand and water
• Qualify: To fit in the requirements of something
• Quaff: To quickly drink something
• Quarry: A rich place of source, usually used for a place that has stones for building
• Quiescent: An inactive or passive period of dormancy
• Quorum: The minimum number of people needed for conducting a meeting
• Quiver: To shake or tremble

Exercise #2

Try to draw or act out the following words that start with Q:

• Quilt
• Quail
• Quite
• Question
• Question-mark
• Quarrel

Fun Ways to Learn Words that Start With Q

Learning new words with their spellings and understanding of the meanings is difficult, especially when it is words that start with Q.

Therefore, we have a few fun ways you can teach a child Q words. These not only maintain your interest but also boost their memorizing skills.

• Let children get creative with sentences. You can play a sentence game where you let your child form sentences with words starting with Q. This way, they will understand the meaning and use of the words better.
• Create a game based on a certain word. You can either create a worksheet that revolves around a certain Q word or play a game. This activity will especially work for words that your child finds hard to learn or understand.