# 功夫
## Chinese

* 功夫 (Written Standard Chinese)
* 功夫 (Cantonese)

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Standard)
       (Pinyin): gōngfu
       (Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄥ ˙ㄈㄨ
    (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): гунфу (gunfu, I-I)
* Cantonese (Jyutping): gung$^1$ fu$^1$
* Gan (Wiktionary): gung$^1$ fu
* Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kûng-fû
* Eastern Min (BUC): gĕ̤ng-hŭ / gŭng-hŭ
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): kang-hu
    (Teochew, Peng'im): gang$^1$ hu$^1$
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^1$kon-fu
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: gōngfu
*** Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄥ ˙ㄈㄨ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: gongfů
*** Wade–Giles: kung$^1$-fu$^5$
*** Yale: gūng-fu
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gong.fu
*** Palladius: гунфу (gunfu)
*** Sinological IPA : /kʊŋ⁵⁵ fu²/
*** Homophones: [Show/Hide]$^{edit}$功夫 工夫
** (Dungan)
*** Cyrillic and Wiktionary: гунфу (gunfu, I-I)
*** Sinological IPA : /kuŋ²⁴ fou²⁴/
    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: gung$^1$ fu$^1$
*** Yale: gūng fū
*** Cantonese Pinyin: gung$^1$ fu$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: gung$^1$ fu$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /kʊŋ⁵⁵ fuː⁵⁵/
*** Homophones: $^{edit}$功夫 工夫
* Gan
** (Nanchang)
*** Wiktionary: gung$^1$ fu
*** Sinological IPA : /kuŋ⁴² fu²/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kûng-fû
*** Hakka Romanization System: gung$^ˊ$ fu$^ˊ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: gung$^1$ fu$^1$
*** Sinological IPA: /kuŋ²⁴⁻¹¹ fu²⁴/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: gĕ̤ng-hŭ / gŭng-hŭ
*** Sinological IPA : /køyŋ⁵⁵ $^{(h-)}$ŋu⁵⁵/, /kuŋ⁵⁵ $^{(h-)}$ŋu⁵⁵/
* gĕ̤ng-hŭ - colloquial;
* gŭng-hŭ - literary.

### Noun

功夫
* time (to do something)
    我沒有功夫。／我没有功夫。 ― Wǒ méiyǒu gōngfu. ― I have no time. (I am busy)
       Yīhuìr gōngfu tā jiù pá shàng le yīge dà shù. [Pinyin]
       He climbed up a tall tree in no time
* efforts (devoted to a task)
       Yào huā hěn dà de gōngfu cái xíng. [Pinyin]
       It won't work unless one expends great effort.
* accomplishments, achievement
* skill; art; workmanship (especially in martial arts)
       Nà ge yǎnyuán niàn táicí de gōngfu bùcuò. [Pinyin]
       That actor's skill at reading his lines is not too shabby.
* kung fu (Chinese martial art)
    耍功夫 ― shuǎ gōngfū ― to perform kung fu
    打功夫 [Cantonese] ― daa$^2$ gung$^1$ fu$^1$ [Jyutping] ― to perform kung fu
       Zhè shì Zhōngguó Shàolín gōngfu shǒucì zài Yǎdiǎn dēng tái liàngxiàng. [Pinyin]
       This was the first time that Chinese Shaolin kung fu was put on display in Athens, Greece.

#### Usage notes

* Originally, kung fu referred to any skill learned through great effort. Used by the Occident to refer to martial arts (武術／武术 (wǔshù)), kung fu is now used by Chinese to also refer to martial arts, but only since the late twentieth century.

#### Synonyms

* (efforts):
* 氣力／气力 (qìlì)
* 氣脈／气脉 (qìmài) (chiefly Hakka)
* 精力 (jīnglì)
* 精神
* (skill):
* 一手
* 人才 (réncái)
* 伎倆／伎俩 (jìliǎng) (literary)
* 俊才 (jùncái)
* 兩手／两手 (liǎngshǒu)
* 力 (lì) (literary, or in compounds)
* 力量 (lìliàng)
* 功力 (gōnglì)
* 天才 (tiāncái) (genius)
* 才具 (cáijù) (formal)
* 才力 (cáilì)
* 才器 (cáiqì) (literary)
* 才幹／才干 (cáigàn)
* 才情 (cáiqíng)
* 手段 (shǒuduàn)
* 手法 (shǒufǎ)
* 手眼 (shǒuyǎn)
* 才能 (cáinéng)
* 手腕 (shǒuwàn)
* 手腕子 (shou$^3$ onn$^3$ zr) (Xiang)
* 才華／才华 (cáihuá)
* 技巧 (jìqiǎo)
* 把式 (bǎshì) (dialectal)
* 技能 (jìnéng)
* 技藝／技艺 (jìyì)
* 技術／技术 (jìshù)
* 招數／招数 (zhāoshù)
* 本事
* 本領／本领 (běnlǐng)
* 材幹／材干 (cáigān) (Classical Chinese)
* 能力 (nénglì)
* 能為／能为 (néngwéi) (literary, dialectal)
* 能耐 (néngnài) (colloquial)
* 能量 (néngliàng)
* 花頭／花头 (Wu)
* 著數／着数
* 解數／解数
* 資力／资力 (zīlì)
* 路數／路数 (lùshù)
* 身手 (shēnshǒu)
* 道行
* (kung fu): 武術／武术 (wǔshù), 工夫 (gōngfu)

#### Derived terms

* 下功夫 (xià gōngfu)
* 功夫不負有心人／功夫不负有心人 (gōngfu bùfù yǒuxīnrén)
* 功夫片
* 功夫茶 (gōngfuchá)
* 只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針／只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针 (zhǐyào gōngfu shēn, tiěchǔ mó chéng zhēn)
* 吃功夫 (chī gōngfu)
* 床上功夫
* 抽功夫
* 沒的功夫／没的功夫
* 白費功夫／白费功夫
* 磨功夫
* 筆下功夫／笔下功夫
* 箱底功夫
* 費功夫／费功夫
* 頂上功夫／顶上功夫

### References

* “Entry #51364”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 功 | 夫 |
| かん Grade: 4 | ふう Grade: 4 |
| irregular ||

### Etymology 1

Borrowing from English kung fu, from Chinese 功夫 (gōngfu).

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) カンフー [káꜜǹfùù] (Atamadaka –)
* IPA: [kã̠ɰ̃ɸɯ̟ː]

#### Noun

功夫(カンフー) • (kanfū) (alternative reading katakana クンフー, rōmaji kunfū)
* kung fu: Chinese martial arts
* (uncommon) efforts (devoted to a task)
** バーチャファイター
    「あなたには功夫(クンフー)が足(た)りないわ！」
       “Anata ni wa kunfū ga tarinaiwa!”
       "Your gongfu isn't enough!"

##### See also

* 拳法(けんぽう) (kenpō, generic term for "martial arts")
* マーシャルアーツ (māsharuātsu, “martial arts”)

### Etymology 2

Kanji in this term :
| 功 | 夫 |
| く Grade: 4 | ふう Grade: 4 |
| on'yomi ||

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) くふう [kùfúú] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [kɯ̟ɸɯ̟ː]

#### Noun

功(く)夫(ふう) • (kufū)
* Alternative spelling of 工夫 (kufū): a device, scheme; dedication to spiritual improvement, especially in Zen meditation

#### Verb

功(く)夫(ふう)する • (kufū suru) suru (stem 功(く)夫(ふう)し (kufū shi), past 功(く)夫(ふう)した (kufū shita))
* Alternative spelling of 工夫 (kufū): to devise, come up with, contrive

##### Conjugation

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms") :
| Mizenkei ("imperfective") | 功夫し | くふうし | kufū shi |
| Ren’yōkei ("continuative") | 功夫し | くふうし | kufū shi |
| Shūshikei ("terminal") | 功夫する | くふうする | kufū suru |
| Rentaikei ("attributive") | 功夫する | くふうする | kufū suru |
| Kateikei ("hypothetical") | 功夫すれ | くふうすれ | kufū sure |
| Meireikei ("imperative") | 功夫せよ¹ 功夫しろ² | くふうせよ¹ くふうしろ² | kufū seyo¹ kufū shiro² |
| Key constructions ||||
| Passive | 功夫される | くふうされる | kufū sareru |
| Causative | 功夫させる 功夫さす | くふうさせる くふうさす | kufū saseru kufū sasu |
| Potential | 功夫できる | くふうできる | kufū dekiru |
| Volitional | 功夫しよう | くふうしよう | kufū shiyō |
| Negative | 功夫しない | くふうしない | kufū shinai |
| Negative continuative | 功夫せず | くふうせず | kufū sezu |
| Formal | 功夫します | くふうします | kufū shimasu |
| Perfective | 功夫した | くふうした | kufū shita |
| Conjunctive | 功夫して | くふうして | kufū shite |
| Hypothetical conditional | 功夫すれば | くふうすれば | kufū sureba |
| ¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative ||||

### References

* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN