What Does KK Mean?

It's easy to guess the meaning of this abbreviation

The kk online acronym simply means "okay" or "message acknowledged." It's the same as nodding in person or saying "cool," "gotcha," etc.

It's common to see kk or KK as a text message abbreviation or when you're playing online games. Like some other internet lingo, kk might also be heard said aloud in person, as "kay kay."

However, in some cases, kk can just be a mistake when typing the regular "k" in conversation. Given its meaning, however, a mistype like this is normally not corrected and will go unnoticed.

Most of the time, texting abbreviations like this are meant to be lowercase, like lol (laugh out loud) or brb (be right back). If you type them in all uppercase, it can come off as if you're yelling, which can be confusing.

History of the KK Expression

Teens texting
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The little bit of history behind kk relates to the 1990's expression "k, kewl." Translated, this expression meant "ok, cool," but was stylistically spelled otherwise.

Undoubtedly, "k, kewl" also influenced the use of kk in today's online chatting.

How to Use KK in Messages

You can use kk in any way that denotes your approval or acceptance of something.

  • Robert: Hey! I'll be there in 15 minutes — Lucy: kk
  • Rachel: I should probably go to sleep now...kk?
  • Amelia: I'll be late to work because of this mile-long train! — Carol: kk, that's fine

Other KK Meanings

KK is also an abbreviation for "confirm" or "end of message" in the aviation context.

In some languages, KK means entirely different things, like "month" or "machine gun" in Finnish, "kanker" (cancer) in Dutch, and a type of stock company in Japanese (as "K.K."). In Korean, "ㅋ" is a consonant with the "k" sound that indicates laughter, so you might see a couple next to each other, like "ㅋㅋ" or "kk," to mean laughter.