kung flu
- noun
- Slur
:
[término ofensivo para el COVID-19 que culpa a las personas de origen chino]
- The media condemned references to kung flu as racially insensitive and inflammatory.
Examples
-
Using the term kung flu in a public speech sparked widespread outrage.
-
He was criticized for making a joke about kung flu during the meeting.
-
Stop using the term kung flu!
-
Many people consider kung flu to be racist.
-
The media condemned references to kung flu as racially insensitive and inflammatory.
-
Using the term kung flu in a public speech sparked widespread outrage.
-
He was criticized for making a joke about kung flu during the meeting.
Surface Forms
Morphology
kung + flu
The head 'flu' clearly signals an illness and the phrase follows the familiar 'X flu' pattern (e.g. 'Spanish flu'), so a learner could infer an illness associated with the X element. However, 'kung' is not a standard standalone English word and its link to Chinese identity depends on cultural/slang knowledge (and the phrase is an offensive slur), so the exact derogatory meaning is not fully predictable from the parts alone.
Etymology
The slang kung flu comes from mixing kung fu and flu, making a joke that links an illness to Chinese people. Because it links the disease to a nationality, the term is 'offensive' and was used to blame or mock people during the 'COVID-19' pandemic.
