A European football player wanted Chinese characters for "Kung Fu Master." What he got was a meaningless combination that roughly translates to "husband hand."
The Story
"I wanted Kung Fu Master. I got Husband Hand. Whatever that means."
A well-known European football player decided to pay tribute to martial arts by getting "Kung Fu Master" tattooed in Chinese. Perhaps inspired by Bruce Lee films or martial arts philosophy, he wanted something that represented discipline, skill, and mastery.
What he got was 夫手 (fū shǒu), which means... nothing. If you try to interpret it literally, it would be something like "husband hand" or "man's hand."
The Linguistic Breakdown
Here's what went wrong:
What he wanted: 功夫大师 (gōng fu dà shī) = Kung Fu Master
- 功夫 (gōng fu) = Kung Fu (skill achieved through effort)
- 大师 (dà shī) = Master, grand master
What he got: 夫手 (fū shǒu) = ???
- 夫 (fū) = Husband, man (also the second character of 功夫)
- 手 (shǒu) = Hand
The tattoo artist apparently:
- Took just the 夫 from 功夫 (dropping the crucial 功)
- Added 手 (hand) for unknown reasons
- Left out "master" (大师) entirely
Why "Kung Fu" Needs Both Characters
功夫 is a compound word – both characters are needed:
- 功 (gōng) = Effort, work, merit
- 夫 (fū) = Man, or suffix for skill
Together they mean "skill acquired through hard work." The 夫 alone has completely different meanings – primarily "husband" or "adult man."
Key Takeaways
- Compound words cannot be abbreviated
- Each character matters – removing one destroys the meaning
- Don't trust partial translations