KR
Abbreviation with 5 meanings
| Stands for | South Korea |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 5 |
| Categories | Geography & Places, Business & Finance, Science & Engineering, Writing & Everyday, Sports |
| Also written | Kr, kr |
KR has five meanings. The most common are South Korea (country code) and Krona or krone (currency); it can also stand for Krypton, Kind regards and Kick returner.
Meanings of KR at a glance
| # | KR stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea | Geography & Places › Country Code |
| 2 | Krona or krone | Business & Finance › Currency |
| 3 | Krypton | Science & Engineering › Chemical Element |
| 4 | Kind regards | Writing & Everyday › Email and Office |
| 5 | Kick returner | Sports › American Football |
1. South Korea
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
South Korea's code comes from its ISO name, Korea, Republic of; the alpha-3 code is KOR, the domain .kr and the won KRW. Seoul is the capital.
Example: K-pop concert tickets sold in KR are often limited to local phone numbers.
Korean is ko in language tags, so the locale is written ko-KR. Diplomatic writing often uses ROK. North Korea uses KP.
2. Krona or krone (kr)
Business & Finance · Currency Abbreviations
Local abbreviation for the Scandinavian and Icelandic crowns: the Swedish krona, Norwegian krone, Danish krone and Icelandic krona. It appears on price tags after or before the amount, as in 99 kr.
Example: Kaffe 35 kr, kanelbulle 40 kr.
Because kr alone does not say which country is meant, international documents use SEK, NOK, DKK or ISK. All four names mean "crown", from Latin corona. The Scandinavian Monetary Union of 1873 made the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish crowns interchangeable until World War I.
3. Krypton (Kr)
Science & Engineering · Chemical Element Abbreviations
Krypton is a rare noble gas (atomic number 36) present at about one part per million in air. It fills some energy-efficient windows and high-performance lamps, and krypton fluoride lasers are used in semiconductor lithography. From 1960 to 1983 the meter was defined by an orange-red emission line of krypton-86.
Example: Triple-pane units filled with Kr insulate better than argon fills in thin window cavities.
William Ramsay and Morris Travers found krypton in 1898 in the residue left after liquid air had nearly boiled away, and named it from Greek kryptos (hidden). Superman's home planet Krypton and the substance kryptonite are fictional. Krypton is used as a propellant in some satellite electric thrusters because it is cheaper than xenon.
4. Kind regards
Writing & Everyday · Email and Office Abbreviations
Abbreviates the email sign-off "Kind regards," placed before the sender's name. It appears mostly in quick replies between colleagues who already know each other.
Example: Attached is the signed NDA you requested; let me know if anything is missing. KR, Hannah
"Kind regards" is among the most common closings in British and Australian business email, but its abbreviation can seem dismissive to recipients who expect the full phrase. Similar shorthand includes BR (best regards) and Rgds (regards). In formal letters, the full closing is always preferred.
5. Kick returner
Sports · American Football Abbreviations
Player who fields kickoffs and runs them back, trying to gain field position or score. Speed and vision matter most, and many returners are receivers or running backs who double on special teams.
Example: The KR took the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
The NFL adopted a "dynamic kickoff" in 2024, lining coverage players up at the receiving team's 40 to encourage returns after years of rising touchbacks. Devin Hester holds the NFL record with 20 return touchdowns, combining kickoffs, punts and a missed field goal.
Related abbreviations
More country code abbreviations
- KI – Kiribati
- KM – Comoros
- KN – Saint Kitts and Nevis
- KP – North Korea
- KW – Kuwait
- KY – Cayman Islands
- KZ – Kazakhstan
- LA – Laos
See all 270 country code abbreviations →