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工夫

gōng fu
HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 6 Noun Uncommon

Definitions

  1. 1. period of time (may be months, or mere seconds)
  2. 2. spare time
  3. 3. skill
  4. 4. labor
  5. 5. effort

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Word relationships

Register variants

1 item
功夫
gōng fu

skill

功夫 is a common variant with overlapping meanings but is the standard for martial arts (kung fu). 工夫 emphasizes time/effort.

Related words

1 item
本领
běn lǐng

skill

本领 means skill or ability, akin to 工夫's skill sense.

Usage notes

Common mistakes

功夫 (with '功') is the standard for 'kung fu' and achievement; 工夫 is for time and effort. Using the wrong character changes the meaning entirely.

Example Sentences

1 shown
我花了很多 工夫 才学会这个技术。
I spent a lot of time and effort to learn this technique.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 工夫

下工夫
xià gōng fu

to put in time and energy

做工夫
zuò gōng fu

to practice (work skills)

抓工夫
zhuā gōng fu

to maximize one's time

费工夫
fèi gōng fu

to spend a great deal of time and effort

踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费工夫
tà pò tiě xié wú mì chù , dé lái quán bù fèi gōng fu

to travel far and wide looking for sth, only to find it easily

Child Words of 工夫

夫
fū

husband

夫
fú

(classical) this, that

工
gōng

work