Polar Games
Guide

Double letter words, plus words with QU and CK

Words with double letters, words with QU and words with CK for kids and spellers, with the simple rules that explain when to use each one.

By Polarzinho ·

Polarzinho driving a red wooden toy car with an apple in his hand and a little blue bird on his shoulder, among letter tiles S, R and Ç

Running or runing? Duck or duk? I have typed both, and my spellchecker gave me a very disappointed underline. So I went and learned the rules.

Here are words with double letters, words with QU and words with CK, plus the little rule behind each group.

Play Letter River Play Stop!

Double letter words

  • Ball, bell, egg, apple, rabbit
  • Kitten, coffee, balloon, dinner, happy
  • Summer, letter, puppy, bottle, butter
  • Moon, book, tree, sheep, cookie

The doubling rule: when a short word ends in one vowel and one consonant, double the consonant before adding -ing, -ed or -er. Run becomes running, stop becomes stopped, big becomes bigger.

Words with QU

  • Queen, quick, quiet, quilt, quiz
  • Question, quack, quarter, quote, quest
  • Squirrel, square, squid, equal, liquid
  • Earthquake, banquet, mosquito, unique, antique

The rule: in English, Q is almost always followed by U, and QU usually sounds like "kw" (queen, quick). At the end of a word, -que sounds like K (unique, antique).

Words with CK

  • Duck, clock, sock, truck, rock
  • Back, black, snack, kick, sick
  • Chicken, pocket, ticket, jacket, rocket
  • Lucky, sticky, bucket, cracker, knock

The rule: use CK right after a short vowel, as in duck, clock and back. After a long vowel or a consonant, use K instead: cake, bike, milk, bank.

Practice by playing

In Letter River, you read a clue and drag across the letters on the board to spell the answer: an easy way to lock in tricky spellings.

Letter River letter board next to the list of clues, with a river and mountains behind

PolarzinhoThe otter in Letter River never forgets the second P in "puppy". I count on my paws.

Letter River: the letter board and the clues beside it.

And in Stop!, the quick category game, spelling counts: friends can strike out a misspelled answer.

Stop! home screen with the options to play with the crowd or create a room with friends

PolarzinhoI once wrote "rabit". My friends struck it out and laughed. Fair.

Stop!: play with the crowd or create a room with friends.

FAQ

When do you double a consonant?

When a short word ends in one vowel plus one consonant and you add -ing, -ed or -er: hop, hopping; stop, stopped.

Why does Q always come with U?

It is a spelling habit English inherited from Latin and French. A few borrowed words, like qi, break the rule.

When do you use CK instead of K?

Right after a short vowel: duck, clock, back. Otherwise use K: cake, milk.

Your turn

Write three double letter words, three QU words and three CK words without looking. Then test your spelling in the games below.

Play Letter River Play Stop!