How to pronounce kung fu
kung fu (the martial arts) is 功夫 in Chinese, written gōngfu in pinyin and said goong-foo.
功夫
goong-foo
Sound by sound
- 功goongFirst tone: high and level
- 夫fooNeutral tone: light and short
Letters to watch
- Ong rhymes with the “oo” of “book” plus ng, not with “long”.
Everyday words
- ni hao (hello) 你好 nee-how
- xie xie (thank you) 谢谢 shyeh-shyeh
- zai jian (goodbye) 再见 dzye-jyen
- qi (chi) 气 chee
- tai chi (taiji) 太极 tie-jee
- feng shui 风水 fung-shway
- yin and yang 阴阳 yeen-yahng
- Putonghua (Mandarin) 普通话 poo-toong-hwah
- hanzi (Chinese characters) 汉字 hahn-dzuh
- pinyin 拼音 peen-yeen
- xin nian kuai le (Happy New Year) 新年快乐 sheen-nyen-kwye-luh
- jia you 加油 jyah-yoh
- guanxi 关系 gwahn-shee
- mianzi (face) 面子 myen-dzuh
- shifu 师父 shr-foo
- laoshi (teacher) 老师 low-shr
- meimei (little sister) 妹妹 may-may
- gege (big brother) 哥哥 guh-guh
How do you pronounce kung fu?
kung fu (the martial arts) is 功夫 in Chinese, written gōngfu in pinyin and said goong-foo.
What are the tones in kung fu?
gōng: first tone, high and level; fu: neutral tone, light and short.
What do English speakers get wrong in kung fu?
Ong rhymes with the “oo” of “book” plus ng, not with “long”.
More free tools
Voices recorded for our word cards. A spelling such as “shyow-mee” is the nearest English sound, not the sound itself: hear the voices.