Fu
/fuː/noun
An informal English shortening of kung fu, referring to Chinese martial arts.
Did you know?The Chinese source 功夫 originally meant time, effort, or painstakingly acquired skill—not specifically martial arts.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Chinese
Chinese
功
“Merit, achievement, or accomplished work”
Classical Chinese
Chinese
夫
“A person or an act of sustained effort; in compounds, it helped form the expression 功夫”
17th–19th Century
Mandarin Chinese
gōngfu
“Skill acquired through time, labor, and practice”
20th Century
English
kung fu
“A Western rendering of Mandarin 功夫, increasingly associated with Chinese martial arts”
Late 20th Century
English
fu
“Informal clipped form of kung fu”
Modern English
English
fu
“Chinese martial arts, especially in informal usage”