This kana represents the sound 'ki'. It is commonly used in vocabulary and can also be part of grammatical structures, such as in the verb ending for the plain present tense (e.g., たべる → たべる, taberu, 'to eat'). In some contexts, it may combine with small や, ゆ, or よ to form contracted sounds like きゃ (kya). For example: 『きのう きょうと に いった』 (kinō Kyōto ni itta, 'I went to Kyoto yesterday').