# Australian dialect for Kilometer? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 4, 2016, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129 "2016-01-04T04:47:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/21 "2016-01-04T22:16:20Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Oh, and never “clicks”, that would sound like an Americanism to me - or more specifically, something from the US military. I’ve heard lots of British army and air force people use it. It never occurred to me until now that it might be an Americanism. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/22 "2016-01-04T23:00:36Z")
Kays or K for distance or speed. Singular ‘K’ only for money (‘it costs 5k’). But, yes - just as likely to use time units to express distance. (‘How far?’ ‘About an hour, hour-ten’). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/23 "2016-01-05T07:10:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I’ve heard lots of British army and air force people use it. It never occurred to me until now that it might be an Americanism. It might be a universal militarism, \*I \*just associate it with (specifically Vietnam) war movies, for some reason. Maybe because that was the first big war where the US had to work with kilometre-using allied forces? Or do they use kilometres as standard now anyway? Also, IIRC it’s often spelt “klicks” not “clicks”. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/24 "2016-01-05T07:20:18Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > 🙂 > > Others may differ but I’d say that in Oz that “kay” is predominantly used for monetary values > > “How much did you pay for that house in Sault Ste. Marie?” > “About 765k.” > > “I paid 500k for that tank.” > > Always singular. Izzit? I’m a Kiwi, (kissing cousins for them funny blokes across the ditch)… I basically never heard “K” in connection with money until I came to Singapore … we always called 1K “a grand” — Likewise $2,000 would be “2 grand” ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/25 "2016-01-05T07:22:03Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > Queensland would definitely be k’s as well. As kambuckta has said, clicks would be equally normal. > > With the cheat of using ‘miles’, that wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but the speaker would either most likely be older (say \>50 years old), or providing a non-specific response as in ‘That’s miles away’ Does this still apply? My old bastard is around 70 and he uses km exclusively - he never talks in miles anymore (anecdote is not data and all that) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/26 "2016-01-05T22:19:10Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Izzit? > I’m a Kiwi, (kissing cousins for them funny blokes across the ditch)… > I basically never heard “K” in connection with money until I came to Singapore … > we always called 1K “a grand” — > Likewise $2,000 would be “2 grand” I’d always imagined “grand” was purely an Americanism. Interesting to know it’s more widespread. ---
**Author:** ![GreedySmurf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a698b9/32.png) [@GreedySmurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreedySmurf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/27 "2016-01-05T23:21:30Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Does this still apply? > My old bastard is around 70 and he uses km exclusively - he never talks in miles anymore (anecdote is not data and all that) Maybe my North Queensland heritage is showing. 😛 Yes, the majority of even old timers would use kays, but it wouldn’t surprise me to hear an older person from rural Qld use miles. ---
**Author:** ![Annadroid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Annadroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annadroid)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/28 "2016-01-06T00:24:58Z")
I am in BC Canada and around here we say “kliks”. I have never heard anyone say “kay”. And most people I have heard using the whole word pronounce it as “kill AW mitter” rather than “KEE lo meeter”. What is odd is that they will then use “KEE lo gram”, “KEE lo leeter”, etc for other types of measurement. I just go with “KEE lo \”. And I spell the word as “kilometer” rather than “kilometre”. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/29 "2016-01-06T00:34:59Z")
Aw, but you’re Canadian, almost half a Yank! ( 😉 ) It’s certainly true that kill-AW-meter is a pronunciation outlier, as everything is is “KEEL-oh-x” or “KILL-oh-x.” KILL-oh-liter, KILL-oh-ton, etc. And when the prefix is used by itself, it turns into “KEEL.” Two KEELOs of drugs, man… A Commonwealthism I had trouble with was “Recce” for “Reconnaissance.” I had wanted to pronounce it “REE-see” but found out later that it’s “Recky.” Embarrassing, as I’d been saying it the first way aloud. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/30 "2016-01-06T04:27:20Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > “15 minutes, but if ya chuck a u-ey and take the left at the milkbar, you’ll be there in ten”. > > I’m rural. We give distances as a unit of time 🙂 > > I do agree with the consensus that it would be k’s. K’s mostly, sometimes clicks, but yeah I grew up in the bush and distance was measured in either units of time or how many stubby’s back in the old days when drink driving was compulsory. eg, Q. how far to the next town? A. 2 stubbies north (20km or 10-12 minutes) ---
**Author:** ![Onyerbike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onyerbike/32/5402_2.png) [@Onyerbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onyerbike)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/31 "2016-01-06T05:49:33Z")
Never once in my life have I heard ‘clicks’ as a placeholder for kilometres in an actual conversation between Australians of any state. To me it has always been k’s, pronounced kayes. " It’s twenty K’s to the shop, then you hang a left just after the servo". ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/32 "2016-01-06T06:03:02Z")
I’ve never in my 50 years heard any Australian use “clicks” for kilometres either. Always K or kays. In writing, though, it’s almost always written as km. “It’s about 10 km from here.” You’d say K but write km. ETA: And _km_ is the correct way of abbreviating _kilometres_, BTW. Recognised by my Australian spell-check, too. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/33 "2016-01-06T07:10:12Z")
km would be the appropriate scientific notation also… So, in dialogue, the guy would say “Kays.” Keen! Thanks again! I wish all my problems were as easily solved! Y’all’s great! ---
**Author:** ![Essured](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Essured](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Essured)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129/34 "2016-01-06T10:29:15Z")
Clicks is for old people. Very old people. Or wankers, I guess. Definitely k’s (pronounced “kays”). Miles can be used for generic mentions e.g “it’s miles away”, but for specifics, it’s always k’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-dialect-for-kilometer/742129.md?page=1)