Is it a new thing to say K G for kg?

[BarbaraVineFan]

I’m 46. When I read 5kg, my brain goes ‘5 kilos’. But everyone seems to say ‘K G’ now instead. I’m sure we never said this at school. Is it just me or is this a new thing in the last 5 years or so?

Oo

I think it might be a relatively recent thing - ive definitely heard it - it feels like it hits the ear wrong.

It does, doesn’t it? I’m a teacher and all the kids at school say it now.

Ah yes, I’ve heard this too and I can’t get used to it! My brain automatically says kilos too!

Kilowatts? @MaggieMop😂

KayGee is commonly used in Australia and NZ

I am old and went to school in the days of pounds and ounces.

To me it’s always been kilograms or k g.

Kilos would depend on the context, but on its own is more likely to mean kilometres than kilograms.

@MaggieMop is right in both posts. If I were reading out loud in school, where I do occasionally still go (Maths teachers are rare beings), I would say kilograms rather than any shorter version.

43 here, always thought of it a K G

How strange. We don't say L B S for pounds.

Sounds odd to me, too. Do they not know what it stands for, perhaps?

How about km, km/h, m and mph?

Mind you, I do say 'pee' for pence, and have been known to say 'kay' for thousand. Maybe we're just going to acronym everything in the end!

I’m a scientist and it’s how I read it, so I guess I would say that too (although I don’t think I say it out loud very often). As someone said upthread, kilo …what? Kilo just means a thousand. Of course if you’re talking about food or someone’s weight then it is obvious what you mean. But my purely scientific brain would go to “kg”.

I say "kilogram" and never say "kg", but I have heard younger people say "kg". Perhaps it depends on what you were taught at school?

I'm 52, I would say kg not kilos.

I have never heard anyone use ‘kilos’ to mean kilometres. Are you sure?
in the language i hear:
kilometres or k for km
kilos for kg
k for thousands in money

I’ve never heard kilograms referred to as kilos; it’s Kg or kilograms.

Agree. Very common in Australia and has been for decades.

Kilos means kilograms. Eg supermarket advertising the price per kilo for potatoes or bananas.

Kilometres can be shortened to k. Eg how far away is the shop? 5 kays/ks. Think of the usage of 5k for a 5km run or 42k for a marathon.

Australians will happily shorten any word so kilograms and kilometres are no exceptions.

I’m on my 40s and have always said K G, never kilos.

pretty sure I’ve used k g for decades. I use it a lot as we do our patient weights in kg (nhs)

I’m in my mid 60s. I have never used kilos. I use either K G or kilograms. Always have.

So no, not a new thing.

In my 40s, always said kilogrammes. My new nursing colleagues (young, Indian) all say KG. Wasn't sure if it was an age or language difference. I'll ask my adult children when I see them what they say.
Think I'll stay with saying kilogrammes myself.

I've never heard anyone saying KG! I've been buying stuff by weight, talking about weight and weighing stuff out for people for 50 years or so.

The Law of Threes dictates that I will now hear two people saying it - but it will, genuinely, be the first (and second) time in my life.

I’ve never heard kilo meaning anything other than kg.
kilometers is just “K”

My twenty year old said K G yesterday. I thought it sounded odd. I said, You know it’s kilograms don’t you? They said, Yes. It must be on social media. I know they watch cooking videos sometimes or the latest TikTok trends.

I bet it's because if videos on phones. If you watch the ones with the AI voice reading out the captions, it always says "Kay gee". Maddening.