Chinese symbol for “effort”
功夫
gōng fu
skill; art; kung fu; labor
The closest CC-CEDICT match for effort is 功夫 (gōng fu), defined as: skill; art; kung fu; labor; effort.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “effort”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 工夫 | gōng fu | period of time (may be months, or mere seconds); spare time |
| 周折 | zhōu zhé | twists and turns; vicissitude |
| 周章 | zhōu zhāng | (literary) effort; trouble; pains (to get sth done); (literary) frightened; terrified |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 功夫.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 成功 | chéng gōng | to succeed; success |
| 功能 | gōng néng | function; capability |
| 功率 | gōng lǜ | power (rate of doing work, measured in watts) |
| 功效 | gōng xiào | efficacy |
| 功课 (功課) | gōng kè | homework; assignment |
| 丈夫 | zhàng fu | husband |
| 夫人 | fū ren | lady; madam |
| 夫妻 | fū qī | husband and wife; married couple |
See also: Japanese symbol for “effort”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.