空手

空手

Chinese

		emptied; leisure; air emptied; leisure; air; sky; empty; in vain	hand; convenient; ‑er
simp. and trad. (空手)		空	手

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kōngshǒu

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄨㄥ ㄕㄡˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hung¹ sau²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): khûng-sú
• Min Nan (POJ): khang-chhiú
• Wu (Wiktionary): khon seu (T1)

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: kōngshǒu
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄥ ㄕㄡˇ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kongshoou
    • Tongyong Pinyin: kongshǒu
    • IPA ^(key): /kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)
    • Jyutping: hung¹ sau²
    • Yale: hūng sáu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hung¹ sau²
    • Guangdong Romanization: hung¹ seo²
    • IPA ^(key): /hʊŋ⁵⁵ sɐu̯³⁵/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 兇手／凶手 空手

• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khûng-sú
    • Hakka Romanization System: kung´ su`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: kung¹ su³
    • IPA: /kʰuŋ²⁴ su³¹/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khang-chhiú
    • Tâi-lô: khang-tshiú
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qangchiuo
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kʰaŋ⁴⁴⁻²² t͡ɕʰiu⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰaŋ³³ t͡ɕʰiu⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kʰaŋ⁴⁴⁻²² t͡ɕʰiu⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡ɕʰiu⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰaŋ⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡ɕʰiu⁴¹/
• Wu
  • (Shanghainese)
    • Wiktionary: khon seu (T1)
    • IPA ^(key): /kʰʊŋ⁵⁵ sɜ²¹/

Verb

空手

1. to be empty-handed
2. to be unarmed
3. to be without a copy, model, diagram, blueprint, etc.

Derived terms

空手套白狼 (kōngshǒu tàobáiláng)

空手道 (kōngshǒudào)

Noun

空手

1. Short for 空手道 (kōngshǒudào, “karate”).

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
空	手
から Grade: 1	て Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 唐 (kara, “Tang Dynasty; China”) +‎ 手 (te, “hand”), as the art was originally transmitted from China to Okinawa, and thence to mainland Japan.[1][2]

The use of 空 to spell the kara portion is an example of both phonetic ateji (当て字) and semantic jukujikun (熟字訓) to express the idea of “empty-handed” or “unarmed”.

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) からて [kàráté] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠ɾa̠te̞]

  • Audio

    (file)

Alternative forms

• 唐手

Noun

空手 (hiragana からて, rōmaji karate)

1. karate

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 空手道 (karatedō, “karate-ism, school of karate, tao of karate”)
• 空手家 (karateka, “karate practitioner”)

Descendants

Descendants

• Afrikaans: karate
• Czech: karate n
• Danish: karate c
• English: karate
• Icelandic: karate n
• Polish: karate n
• Serbo-Croatian: karate m
• Spanish: karate m

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
空	手
から Grade: 1	て Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 空 (kara, “empty”) +‎ 手 (te, “hand”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) からて [kàráté] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠ɾa̠te̞]

  • Audio

    (file)

Noun

空手 (hiragana からて, rōmaji karate)

1. the state of being empty-handed

   参 (まい)った！出 (しゅっ)張 (ちょう)したのにお土産 (みやげ)を忘 (わす)れて、空手 (からて)で帰 (かえ)ってしまった。

   Maitta! Shutchō shita no ni omiyage o wasurete, karate de kaette shimatta.

   Oh no! I went on a trip, but I forgot to get any gifts, and returned empty-handed.

Usage notes

Note that this term in Japanese is a noun, but it is often translated into English as the adjective empty-handed.

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
空	手
あ(き) Grade: 1	て Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 空 (aki, “empty, open”) +‎ 手 (te, “hand”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [a̠kʲite̞]

Alternative forms

• 空き手, 明き手, 明手

Noun

空手 (hiragana あきて, rōmaji akite)

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) the left, the left hand, the left-hand side (from the way a blind person would hold their cane in their right hand, leaving the left empty)
2. (archaic, possibly obsolete) (by extension) someone with nothing to do, someone unoccupied at the moment, an idler

   Synonyms: 手隙 (tesuki), 透き (tesuki), 手明き (teaki)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
空	手
そら Grade: 1	て > で Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 空 (sora, “sky; out of the blue”) +‎ 手 (te, “hand”).[1][2]The te changes to de as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [so̞ɾa̠de̞]

Alternative forms

• 虚手

Noun

空手 (hiragana そらで, rōmaji sorade)

1. (archaic) sudden-onset pain in one's hands or arms with no clear immediate cause, such as due to arthritis or neuralgia

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
空	手
むな Grade: 1	て > で Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 空 (muna, “empty, hollow”) +‎ 手 (te, “hand”). The te changes to de as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [mɯ̟ᵝna̠de̞]

Alternative forms

• 徒手

Noun

空手 (hiragana むなで, rōmaji munade)

1. (archaic, possibly obsolete) the state of being empty-handed, bare-handed, unarmed
2. (archaic, possibly obsolete) the state of being empty-handed, doing nothing with no success or positive result

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
空	手
くう Grade: 1	しゅ Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 空手 (MC kʰuŋ ɕɨu^X, literally “empty + hand”).

Pronunciation

• On’yomi: Goon
  • (Tokyo) く​うしゅ [kúꜜùshù] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ᵝːɕɨᵝ]

Noun

空手 (hiragana くうしゅ, rōmaji kūshu)

1. the state of being empty-handed, bare-handed, unarmed

   Synonyms: 素手 (sude), 空拳 (kūken), 手ぶら (te-bura)

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

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Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
空	手

Noun

空手

1. Hán tự form of không thủ (“karate”).