Kung fu or gung fu (功夫) is a Chinese term often used by speakers of the English language to refer to Chinese martial arts. However in its original meaning, kung fu can refer to any skill. Gōngfu (功夫) is a compound of two words, combining 功 (gōng) meaning "achievement" or "merit", and 夫 (fū) which translates into "man", so that a literal rendering would be "human achievement." Its connotation is that of an accomplishment arrived at by great effort. The Chinese equivalent of "martial art" would be read as 武術 wushù.