5-letter words with K as the 1st letter and I as the 4th letter

This fixed pattern leaves a compact but unusual set: K begins every entry, while I sits in the fourth position. Only two entries rank among the most common English words, so familiar choices such as KIWI and KEFIR stand out from specialist vocabulary. The final letter gives you another clue: S is far ahead of every other ending.

Which 5-letter words have K first and I fourth?

• There are 29 matches across the tournament dictionaries counted here.
• KYLIX scores 19 points, the highest score in this pattern.
• Fifteen entries end in S; the next most common ending, E, appears in three.
• Only two matches rank among the top 25,000 English words by frequency.
• The set averages 11.6 points per word.

What stands out about the K-I pattern?

The S ending dominates: KIWIS, KALIS, KAMIS, and KAKIS are among the examples, and 15 of the 29 words finish that way. E comes next with three entries; M, N, and R each finish two. If the last tile is known, S is the strongest first guess in this group.

The fixed letters do not make every answer familiar. KYLIE, KYRIE, KIWI, and KEFIR are recognizable examples, while KYLIX and KAMIK are less everyday. Only two words meet the common-frequency threshold, so a pattern match is not the same as a likely everyday answer.

Which matches score highest, and what should you check?

KYLIX leads at 19 points, followed by KAZIS at 18 and KOJIS at 16. Those are base word scores, not promised board totals: premium letter or word squares change the result. For a rack decision, compare the letters you can actually place rather than treating the highest base score as an automatic play.

Dictionary coverage differs: Collins includes 25 matches, NWL2023 includes 23, and ENABLE includes 15. The overall count includes a word present in at least one of those lists, not necessarily all three. Several entries are uncommon, so check your game's word list before relying on a specialist term.