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

He spent more than a week in Zhengzhou, China, studying kung fu and meditating with Shaolin monks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 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

Shaolin Temple also came under fire in 2015 over a plan to build a nearly $300m temple complex which also included a hotel, a kung fu school and a golf course.

From BBC • Jul. 28, 2025

Also to Mexico, and a Korean martial arts school pulled straight out of some old Shaw Brothers kung fu movie, which doesn’t make sense culturally, but consider what we’re discussing.

From Salon • Feb. 13, 2025

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

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

Related Words

• judo
• karate
• wrestling