Halloween Words That Start With Q
six Halloween words start with the letter Q: Quiet, Quiver, Quake, Queen, Quilt and Quick. Halloween falls on October 31, and these are the words a preschooler actually meets on the night. Each one below has a short meaning, how many syllables it has, how to say it and a sentence to use it in, plus two free printables.
All six Halloween words that start with Q
Spooky Q words
- Quiet
- Quiver
- Quake
Other Q words you will hear at Halloween
These are not spooky words, but a child hears every one of them on Halloween night.
- Queen
- Quilt
- Quick
| Word | What it means | Syllables | Say it like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiet | Making very little sound. | 2 | KWY-ut |
| Quiver | To shake a little from cold or fear. | 2 | KWIV-er |
| Quake | To shake hard. | 1 | kwayk |
| Queen | A woman who rules a country. | 1 | kween |
| Quilt | A thick blanket sewn in squares. | 1 | kwilt |
| Quick | Fast. | 1 | kwik |
What each word means
Quiet
How you have to be when hiding, which is the only way most children can be persuaded to try it. In a sentence: “Stay quiet or they will hear us.”
Quiver
A small shake rather than a big one, which is a useful difference from shiver and shake. In a sentence: “His voice began to quiver.”
Quake
The bigger version of quiver, so teaching the two together shows the size difference. In a sentence: “The floor seemed to quake under our feet.”
Queen
A costume that needs only a crown, and one children pick when they want princess but grander. In a sentence: “She dressed as a queen with a gold crown.”
Quilt
The thing pulled over your head when a story gets too frightening. In a sentence: “He hid under the quilt until it was over.”
Quick
Every q word here starts with qu saying kw, which is the pattern worth teaching once. In a sentence: “Be quick, the next house is waiting.”
Which Q words are hardest for a preschooler to say?
Quiet, Quiver, Quake, Queen and Quick each start with a single /q/ sound, so a three year old can usually copy them straight back. If your child is at the copying-back stage, start with Quiet.
How to use these Q words with preschoolers
Say it, then find it
Say the word out loud and stretch the first sound: quiet. Then ask your child to find something in the room that starts the same way. Hearing the sound and then finding it on something real ties the letter to something your child can already picture.
Sort the scary from the silly
Read the list together and let your child put each word in one of two piles: silly or spooky. There is no right answer, and the sorting is what makes them think about what the word actually means. It also gives you a gentle way to talk about being a little bit scared on purpose.
Trace it, then draw it
Use the tracing sheet below to write the three spooky words, then ask your child to draw one of them on the back. Writing the word and picturing it at the same time is what makes it stick.
Free printables: the Halloween Q word list and tracing sheet
Two pages, A4, free to print with no sign-up. The word list has all six words in large type with a tick box beside each one, so a child can mark off the words they can read. The tracing sheet has the three spooky words, Quiet, Quiver and Quake, on handwriting rules to write over.
Word list
Tracing sheet
More on the letter Q
This page is one letter of Halloween words A to Z. For letter formation and tracing practice, see letter Q activities for preschoolers. For animal names beginning with the same letter, see animals that start with Q, and for the winter equivalent see Christmas words that start with Q.
Halloween words A to Z: A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z
← Halloween words that start with P | Halloween words that start with R →
Frequently asked questions
What Halloween words start with Q?
Quiet, Quiver, Quake, Queen, Quilt and Quick. All six are listed above with a short meaning for each.
Which Halloween Q word is easiest for a preschooler?
Quiet. It is one syllable, the first sound is easy to stretch out, and most children have already seen one, which fixes the word far faster than a definition does.
How many syllables are in these Q words?
They run from one to two. Quake, Queen, Quilt and Quick are single syllables, which is where to start.
How do I teach Halloween words without frightening my child?
Start with the silly ones and leave the spooky ones until they ask. A costume, a pumpkin and a bucket of candy are Halloween to a four year old. If a word does worry them, let them draw it and give it a friendly face, which takes the fear out of it faster than telling them not to worry.
What age are these words for?
Three to six. Younger children will recognize the words when you say them long before they can read them, which is the point of tracing rather than copying.
