Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kung fu

/ˈkʌŋ ˈfuː/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English

Syllables
kung -fu
IPA
/ˈkʌŋ ˈfuː/
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A Chinese martial art.

Countable

noun

The Chinese martial arts collectively.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A mastery of or expertise in a skill

Countable; Slang; Uncountable

noun

A mastery of or expertise in a skill

Countable; Slang; Uncountable

verb

To perform kung fu.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From the Wade–Giles romanization of Mandarin 功夫 (gōngfu, “skill, accomplishment, martial art”): kung¹-fu⁵.

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

gongfu (alternative) gong-fu (alternative) gong fu (alternative) gungfu (alternative) gung-fu (alternative) gung fu (alternative) kungfu (alternative) kung-fu (alternative) kung fus (present, singular) kung fuing (participle, present) kung fued (participle, past) kung fued (past)

Phrases

-fu gun fu kung flu wire fu

Synonyms

wushu

Rhymes With

you do who new two too you-know-who through few true due talk down to

Questions

How do you pronounce kung fu?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkʌŋ ˈfuː/.
What does kung fu mean?
A Chinese martial art.
Where does kung fu come from?
From the Wade–Giles romanization of Mandarin 功夫 (gōngfu, “skill, accomplishment, martial art”): kung¹-fu⁵.

How to pronounce kung fu

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kung fu”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkʌŋ ˈfuː/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “kung fu”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “kung fu” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.