肯塔基
Kěntǎjī
肯塔基 (Kěntǎjī) is the Mandarin word for the US state Kentucky.
肯塔基 is used to refer to the name of the US state. You can also refer to the state specifically by appending the character 州 (zhōu) to the name.
Meaning: US state (name)
Which one should you use?
肯塔基 is the standard way to name the state, while 肯塔基州 (Kěntǎjī zhōu) is used when you want to explicitly specify that you are referring to Kentucky State.
How does it change in a sentence?
To specify the state, add the character 州 (zhōu) after 肯塔基.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is Kěntǎjī.
Did you know?
- In mainland China, 肯塔基 (Kěntǎjī) is more likely to make people think of KFC than the US state, as the fast food chain is called 肯德基 (Kěndéjī) and the two names are very similar.
- The character '塔' (tǎ) used in the name is most commonly associated with the word for 'pagoda' or 'tower', which can feel a bit strange to a speaker seeing it in a geographic name.
- The character 州 (zhōu), used in 肯塔基州 to mean 'state', originally referred to a 'region' or 'province' in ancient China during the Zhou Dynasty, long before the concept of a US state existed.
Examples in context
- 肯塔基尖聲叫著＂他媽的＂。Kentucky screams "fuck".This example shows the use of 肯塔基.Tatoeba #760718 by Martha, translation #411113 by MUIRIEL
- 美國的第十六任總統亞伯拉罕·林肯是在肯塔基州的一間木屋中出生的。Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in a log cabin in Kentucky.This sentence shows how to refer to the state using 肯塔基.Tatoeba #596684 by nickyeow, translation #241323 by CK
- 你去过肯塔基吗？Have you been to Kentucky?
- 肯塔基州有很多馬。Kěntǎjī zhōu yǒu hěnduō mǎ.There are many horses in Kentucky.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their upcoming travel plans.
- 雨婷 Yuting你想去肯塔基州旅遊嗎？Nǐ xiǎng qù Kěntǎjī zhōu lǚyóu ma?Do you want to travel to Kentucky?
- 俊杰 Junjie我想去，但我還沒決定。Wǒ xiǎng qù, dàn wǒ hái méi juédìng.I want to go, but I haven't decided yet.
- 雨婷 Yuting那裡的風景真的很漂亮。Nàlǐ de fēngjǐng zhēn de hěn piàoliang.The scenery there is really beautiful.
- 俊杰 Junjie聽你這麼說，我很有興趣。Tīng nǐ zhème shuō, wǒ hěn yǒu xìngqù.Hearing you say that, I am very interested.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “kentucky” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
