KFC (pronunciation in different languages) (2024)

Hello, I am wonder how you pronounce KFC (the American fast food restaurant) in different languages.

English - [kei ef si:]
Hungarian & Czech [ka: ef tse:]

Thanks. Enco.

In Mexican Spanish that would be:
[ka efe se]

However, you don't often hear anyone calling it that over here, most people would actually say 'Kentucky', instead, pronounced [kenˈtoki].

In Catalan: [ˌkaefəˈse]

סייבר־שד said:

In Mexican Spanish that would be:
[ka efe se]

See Also

Kfc Pronunciation, Meaning, Synonyms & phonetic transcription

However, you don't often hear anyone calling it that over here, most people would actually say 'Kentucky', instead, pronounced [kenˈtoki].

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In standard European Spanish, that'd be [ˌkaefeˈθe].

Another difference is that, where Mexicans say [o] for the English [ʌ], Spaniards say [a]: Kentucky [ken'taki]. This is almost a rule: Tromp/Tramp, Pizzahot/Pizzahat, etc. Both are logical, since [ʌ] is half way between the two Spanish vowels. This doesn't happen always, as in some cases both simply say: ley de Murphy ['murfi]

Penyafort said:

Another difference is that, where Mexicans say [o] for the English [ʌ], Spaniards say [a]: Kentucky [ken'taki]. This is almost a rule: Tromp/Tramp, Pizzahot/Pizzahat, etc. Both are logical, since [ʌ] is half way between the two Spanish vowels. This doesn't happen always, as in some cases both simply say: ley de Murphy ['murfi]

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Indeed! As for the last example, though, it may well be the most common pronunciation around here, but I've definitely heard some folks pronounce it [ˈmorfi] or even [ˈmɑrfi].

In one modern Chinese TV series, people said "KFC" (with an English pronunciation). Even the sub-titles said "KFC". That is what the restaurant is called.

English - [kei ef si:]

This isn't surprising, since English is taught in most Chinese schools. They might not learn very much, but "KFC" isn't even words. It is just the names of three letters.

HilfswilligerGenosse said:

I never heard "KFC" in German being abbreviated. It could of course be pronounced "Ka-Eff-Zeh", but I would think of a (football) club being called KFC - most likely KFC Uerdingen 05, the successor to former Bundesliga team Bayer Uerdingen.

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What do you call that particular chain of fast food restaurants in German then? And wouldn’t context make it obvious one were speaking about somewhere to eat rather than a football team (especially if you’re no where Krefeld!)?

Stoggler said:

What do you call that particular chain of fast food restaurants in German then?

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I don't talk about fastfood restaurant chains that much, but I would use the full name: "Lass uns zu Kentucky Fried Chicken gehen." for example. In the 1990s or 2000s, its name was verballhornt in some TV show and became "Kentucky schreit f**ken"...

In Romanian we imitate the English quite closely, so I'd say it's more or less [kei‿ef si:]

Sometimes kids will purposefully mispronounce it by reading the letters in Romanian: [ka ef t͡ʃe] or [ka fe t͡ʃe].

dojibear said:

In one modern Chinese TV series, people said "KFC" (with an English pronunciation). Even the sub-titles said "KFC". That is what the restaurant is called.

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I'm going to guess that's well within the realm of product placement and doesn't necessarily mirror common usage, though it may very well do so.

Trisia said:

I'm going to guess that's well within the realm of product placement and doesn't necessarily mirror common usage

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"Product placement" = naming the store in the TV drama
"common usage" = what people normally call the restaurant

I agree. You make a good point.

I Googled "KFC stores in China" and clicked on Images. Almost every store has the picture and "KFC" in big letters. But many signs also show the 3 Chinese characters 肯德基. Those characters are pronounced kǔn-dé-jí, so they are clearly a Chinese transliteration of "Kentucky". I don't know how many people say "肯德基" and how many people say "KFC".