Word.ws English Dictionary

nunchaku

Syllables: nun·cha·ku/nʌnˈtʃækuː//nʌnˈt͡ʃɑku/

nunchaku noun: a weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord.

Noun

nunchaku (countable and uncountable, plural nunchakus)

  1. (countable) A weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord.
    Synonyms:
    chainsticks
  2. (uncountable) The skill of using this weapon in martial arts.

nunchaku meaning in Marathi, Indonesian and Vietnamese

nunchaku in Marathi

weapon consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord
नन्चक nancak, नुन्चाकु nuncāku

nunchaku in Indonesian

weapon consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord
ruyung

nunchaku in Vietnamese

weapon consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord
nhị khúc côn, côn nhị khúc

Synonyms of nunchaku

Forms of nunchaku

pluralnunchakus
alternative formnumchuck
alternative formnum-chuk
alternative formnunchuck
alternative formnunchuk

Origin of nunchaku

Borrowed from Okinawan 双節棍 (nunchaku) (compare Japanese 双節棍 (nunchaku)), probably from Hokkien 兩節棍 /两节棍 (nn̄g-chat-kùn, literally “two-segment cudgel”), from 兩 /两 (nn̄g, “two”) + 節 /节 (chat, “joint; link; segment”) + 棍 (kùn, “cudgel; stick”).

Questions about nunchaku

What does nunchaku mean?
Nunchaku means a weapon originating from Okinawa, Japan, consisting of two sticks joined by a chain or cord.
What is nunchaku in Marathi?
Nunchaku in Marathi is नन्चक (nancak), नुन्चाकु (nuncāku). See Nunchaku meaning in Marathi.
What part of speech is nunchaku?
Nunchaku is a noun.
How do you pronounce nunchaku?
Nunchaku is pronounced /nʌnˈtʃækuː/ (UK).
What is the plural of nunchaku?
The plural of nunchaku is nunchakus.

Words near nunchaku in the dictionary

  1. Nunc dimittis
  2. nunc pro tunc
  3. nunc stans
  4. nuncatie
  5. nuncaties
  6. nunchaku
  7. nunchakus
  8. nuncheon
  9. nuncheons
  10. nunchi
  11. nunchion

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: nunchaku (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-nunchaku.wav, En-us-nunchaku.ogg.

Cite this entry: “nunchaku.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/nunchaku. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.