What is a kite?

A kite is a four-sided shape with two pairs of equal-length sides, where the equal sides are adjacent (next to each other) rather than opposite. Its diagonals cross at right angles, and one pair of opposite angles is equal. A rhombus is a special kite in which all four sides are equal.

Examples

• A shape with two short sides of 3 cm meeting at the top and two long sides of 5 cm meeting at the bottom is a kite.
• A rhombus is a kite whose two pairs happen to be the same length.
• Area of a kite: half the product of its diagonals.

Quick facts

• The diagonals of a kite always cross at right angles.
• A kite has exactly one line of symmetry, along the diagonal between the unequal angles.
• Unlike a parallelogram, a kite usually has no parallel sides.