Heard spelling

mikropyle

Spelled micropyle. a hard c

Why c in micro- when the sound is k?

Because Latin wrote Greek kappa as c, and every micro- word in English inherited that decision.

Microscope, microbe, micrometer, microphone: all of them have a hard c that has never been a k in English. Mikropyle restores the Greek letter and breaks the family. A c followed by a, o, u or a consonant stays hard, which is why nothing softens it here.

Say

MY-kroh-pile

Letters

M-I-C-R-O-P-Y-L-E