功夫

gōng fu

CL 套 tào 种 zhǒng

HSK 2.0 Level 5 HSK 3.0 Level 4 Noun Common

Definitions

1. skill
2. art
3. kung fu
4. labor
5. effort

Word relationships

Related words

3 items

• 武术 wǔ shù 武术 wǔ shù military skill or technique (in former times) 功夫: military skill or technique (in former times)
• 力气 lì qi 力气 lì qi strength 花费力气: strength
• 时间 shí jiān 时间 shí jiān time 花费时间: time

Usage notes

Common mistakes

Don't confuse 功夫 (gōngfu) with 工夫 (gōngfū), which means time or spare time.

Cultural notes

功夫 refers not just to martial arts but to any skill achieved through persistent effort.

Example Sentences

2 shown

他在学问上下了很大 功夫 。

He has put a lot of effort into his studies.

我沒 功夫 吃飯。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 10608372)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 功夫

• 下功夫 下功夫 xià gōng fu: see 下工夫[xià gōng fu]
• 做功夫 做功夫 zuò gōng fu: to practice (work skills)
• 功夫流感 功夫流感 gōng fu liú gǎn: Chinese translation of \kung flu\, a term used by US President Trump in 2020 to refer to COVID-19 as a \Chinese\ disease
• 功夫球 功夫球 gōng fu qiú: see 鐵球|铁球[tiě qiú]
• 功夫病毒 功夫病毒 gōng fu bìng dú: kung flu
• 功夫茶 功夫茶 gōng fu chá: very concentrated type of tea drunk in Chaozhou, Fujian and Taiwan
• 只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针 只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针 zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn , tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn: If you work at it hard enough, you can grind an iron bar into a needle.
• 抓功夫 抓功夫 zhuā gōng fu: to maximize one's time

Child Words of 功夫

• 功 功 gōng: meritorious deed or service
• 夫 夫 fū: man
• 夫 夫 fú: (classical) this, that