功夫 (gōng fu) — time and effort (spent on something); kung fu, Chinese martial arts; skill, art, craft
Definition
At HSK 4, 功夫 usually means 'time and effort' or 'skill/craftsmanship' built through practice. 武术 is the formal term for the martial art; 工夫 (HSK 6) is a variant spelling used more for 'time' and 'spare time'.
noun
time and effort (spent on something)kung fuChinese martial artsskillartcraft
Easily confused
Examples
- 功夫。Tā xià le hěn duō gōng fu cái xué huì.He put in a lot of effort before he learned it.
- 功夫。Tā liàn le shí nián gōng fu.He has practiced kung fu for ten years.
- 。Tā huà huà hěn yǒu gōng fu.He is very skilled at painting.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.