In Norwegian, ⟨x⟩ is generally pronounced, but since the 19th century, there has been a tendency to spell it out as ⟨ks⟩ it may still be retained in personal names, though it is fairly rare, and occurs mostly in foreign words and SMS language.

Dierckx, Hendrickx, Koninckx, Sterckx, Vranckx). In the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, family names with ⟨x⟩ are not uncommon (e.g. Words with an ⟨x⟩ in the Dutch language are nowadays usually loanwords. This is because of historical sound-changes in Dutch, where all /ks/ sounds have been replaced by /s/ sounds.

In Dutch, ⟨x⟩ usually represents, except in the name of the island of Texel, which is pronounced Tessel.

In some languages, as a result of assorted phonetic changes, handwriting adaptations or simply spelling convention, ⟨x⟩ has other pronunciations: X is the third least frequently used letter in English (after ⟨q⟩ and ⟨z⟩), with a frequency of about 0.15% in words. XL for extra large, XOR for exclusive-or, or the extinction symbol).

Xmas for Christmas, Xian for Christian), the 'crys-' in crystal ( XTAL), 'by' ( SXSW for South by Southwest) or various words starting with 'ex-' (e.g. X-ing for crossing, XREF for cross-reference), 'Christ-' (e.g. XMIT for transmit, XFER for transfer), 'cross-' (e.g. In abbreviations, it can represent 'trans-' (e.g. Many of the words that start with ⟨x⟩ are of Greek origin, or standardized trademarks ( Xerox) or acronyms ( XC). Chinese names starting with Xi like Xiaomi or Xinjiang). the obsolete Vietnamese monetary unit xu) or / ʃ/ (e.g. When starting in some names or as its own representation it is pronounced 'eks', in rare recent loanwords or foreign proper names, it can also be pronounced / s/ (e.g. When ⟨x⟩ does start a word, it is usually pronounced 'z' (e.g. There are very few English words that start with ⟨x⟩ (the fewest of any letter). fax), except in loan words such as faux (see French, below). When ⟨x⟩ ends a word, it is always / k s/ (e.g. It also makes the sound / k ʃ/ in words ending in -xion (except for axion). sexual and luxury) these result from earlier / k s j/ and / ɡ z j/. Before ⟨a⟩, ⟨i⟩ or ⟨u⟩, it can be pronounced / k ʃ/ or / ɡ ʒ/ (e.g.

It is also pronounced / ɡ z/ when it precedes a silent ⟨h⟩ and a stressed vowel (e.g. ox), and the voiced consonant / ɡ z/ when it precedes the stressed vowel (e.g. In English orthography, ⟨x⟩ is typically pronounced as the voiceless consonant cluster / k s/ when it follows the stressed vowel (e.g. Word-initially in words derived from Tupi usually When preceded by and a consonant some words In the Provençal, Limousin, Auvergnat, Vivaro-Alpine, and Niçard dialects Letter x on the middle or the end of a word only occurs in names. For example, the word 'maximum' and 'climax' in Indonesian would be 'maksimal' and 'klimaks'.

In the middle or the end of a word, although words borrowed with the letter x in the middle or the end of a word are always replaced by the letters 'ks'. Word-finally with liaison in sixième (6th) and dixième (10th) In six ( 6), dix ( 10), Auxerre, and Bruxelles ( Brussels) Usually in Aix- (prefix or name of several places) Mainly in the prefix ex- followed by a vowel sometimes word-initially In digraphs only as a substitute for a diacriticĬx, gx, hx, jx, sx, ux are used as substitutes for ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ, ŭ where these characters are not available. Groups -xion(-), -xious(-), -xua- in the word flexure Possibly the only case in the world of used as a vowel.ĭon Quixote, Oaxaca, words derived from Classical Nahuatl/ Nahuatl Usually (word-initially, after consonants, i, au, eu, in some surnames such as Rexach) Pronunciation and use Pronunciations of Xx The letter 'Χ' ~ 'Ψ' for /kʰ/ was a Greek addition to the alphabet, placed after the Semitic letters along with phi 'Φ' for /pʰ/. However, the Etruscans had taken over 'Χ' from western Greek, and it therefore stands for /ks/ in Etruscan and Latin. In the end, more conservative eastern forms became the standard of Classical Greek, and thus 'Χ' ( Chi) stood for /kʰ/ (later /x/ palatalized to in Modern Greek before front vowels). In Ancient Greek, ' Χ' and ' Ψ' were among several variants of the same letter, used originally for /kʰ/ and later, in western areas such as Arcadia, as a simplification of the digraph 'ΧΣ' for /ks/. ( August 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) See the relevant discussion on the talk page. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced. Etruscan and Latin borrowing of X from Χ/χ (Khi/Chi) could have occurred from pre Hellenic localized dialects. The dispute is about Ξ/ξ (Xsi) stands phonetically for X in classical and modern Greek. The factual accuracy of part of this article is disputed.

Words that end with the letter x