Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1960s
Kung fu
from gōngfu
- Meaning
- Chinese martial arts.
- Source word
- gōngfu
- Route into English
- Mandarin *gōngfu* (skill acquired through effort) → English via Hong Kong cinema in the Bruce Lee era. The Mandarin sense is any skill from long practice, not specifically fighting; the martial-arts sense is an English specialisation.
- Arrived
- 1960s
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.