kung fu

American  

[kuhng foo, koong] / ˈkʌŋ ˈfu, ˈkʊŋ /

noun

1. an ancient Chinese method of self-defense by striking blows at vulnerable areas of an attacker's body using fluid movements of the hands and legs.

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kung fu British  

/ ˈkʌŋ ˈfuː /

noun

1. any of various Chinese martial arts, some focusing on unarmed combat, others involving the use of weapons

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Etymology

Origin of kung fu

From the Chinese word gōngf ú literally, skill

Compare meaning

How does kung-fu compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• kung fu vs. karate

Example Sentences

Fans love clocking their samples from kung fu movies, shouting out “Tiger style!” from “Executioners from Shaolin,” or the definitive quote about Shaolin shadowboxing teaming up with the Wu-Tang sword style: It could be dangerous!

From Salon • May 31, 2026

After one victory, he was congratulated by the Hong Kong martial-arts star Bruce Lee, who taught him kung fu techniques.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

"They've shown robots dancing and doing kung fu; now show us that they can be productive," Rokseth said.

From Barron's • Jan. 8, 2026

Under his leadership, the temple started opening schools outside China and formed a travelling troupe of monks who performed Shaolin kung fu shows - the temple's signature style of martial arts.

From BBC • Jul. 28, 2025

He knew karate, kung fu, tae kwon do, jujitsu.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

• judo
• karate
• wrestling