"fufu" meaning in English

See fufu in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Interjection

IPA: /ˈfuːˌfuː/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈfuˌfu/ [General-American] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Izundu Okechukwu-Fufu.wav
Rhymes: -uːfuː Etymology: Borrowed from Japanese ふふ (fufu, onomatopoeia for laughter). Etymology templates: {{bor+|en|ja|ふふ|pos=onomatopoeia for laughter|tr=fufu}} Borrowed from Japanese ふふ (fufu, onomatopoeia for laughter)
  1. (fandom slang, chiefly in translations of Japanese works) Alternative form of fufufu (onomatopoeia for laughter; especially a snicker). Tags: alt-of, alternative, slang Alternative form of: fufufu (extra: onomatopoeia for laughter; especially a snicker)
    Sense id: en-fufu-en-intj-o3I-7PAU Topics: lifestyle
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Noun

IPA: /ˈfuːˌfuː/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈfuˌfu/ [General-American] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Izundu Okechukwu-Fufu.wav Forms: foofoo [alternative], foo-foo [alternative], foufou [alternative]
Rhymes: -uːfuː Etymology: From West African languages, such as Lingala fufú (“white-white”). Etymology templates: {{wp}}, {{senseno|en|Q941004}} etymology 1 sense 1, {{m+|ln|fufú||t=white-white}} Lingala fufú (“white-white”) Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} fufu (uncountable)
  1. A dish of boiled, mashed cassava mixed with plantain, yams, or other starchy vegetables, common as food in West and Equatorial Africa and the Caribbean, and sometimes sold in dry powdered or granulated form. Tags: uncountable Synonyms: choke-me
    Sense id: en-fufu-en-noun-YpH9AGar Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Manado Malay entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 9 entries, Pages with entries, Foods Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 7 93 Disambiguation of Manado Malay entries with incorrect language header: 16 3 29 9 7 4 1 4 3 5 7 9 3 1 Disambiguation of Pages with 9 entries: 21 0 10 11 1 1 0 1 9 13 18 12 1 0 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 20 0 14 11 1 1 0 1 9 13 18 11 1 0 Disambiguation of Foods: 3 97
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "wp"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Q941004"
      },
      "expansion": "etymology 1 sense 1",
      "name": "senseno"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ln",
        "2": "fufú",
        "3": "",
        "t": "white-white"
      },
      "expansion": "Lingala fufú (“white-white”)",
      "name": "m+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From West African languages, such as Lingala fufú (“white-white”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "foofoo",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "foo-foo",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "foufou",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "fufu (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "fu",
        "fu"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "7 93",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 3 29 9 7 4 1 4 3 5 7 9 3 1",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Manado Malay entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "21 0 10 11 1 1 0 1 9 13 18 12 1 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 9 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 0 14 11 1 1 0 1 9 13 18 11 1 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 97",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Foods",
          "orig": "en:Foods",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              145,
              149
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "[1987 July 29, Steven Barboza, “Culinary Delights of Africa Reflect a Continent's Diversity”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Africans generally serve highly seasoned stews with a starch - corn, millet, yams, cassava or rice - which they mash and whip to a paste, called fufu in West Africa. This is topped with a sauce known as palava.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              51,
              55
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2018, Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death, HarperVoyager, page 192:",
          "text": "“I want some real food,” Binta angrily said. “Like fufu and egusi soup.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A dish of boiled, mashed cassava mixed with plantain, yams, or other starchy vegetables, common as food in West and Equatorial Africa and the Caribbean, and sometimes sold in dry powdered or granulated form."
      ],
      "id": "en-fufu-en-noun-YpH9AGar",
      "links": [
        [
          "dish",
          "dish"
        ],
        [
          "cassava",
          "cassava"
        ],
        [
          "plantain",
          "plantain"
        ],
        [
          "yam",
          "yam"
        ],
        [
          "Africa",
          "Africa"
        ],
        [
          "Caribbean",
          "Caribbean"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "choke-me"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfuːˌfuː/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfuˌfu/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Izundu Okechukwu-Fufu.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːfuː"
    }
  ],
  "word": "fufu"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "ふふ",
        "pos": "onomatopoeia for laughter",
        "tr": "fufu"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Japanese ふふ (fufu, onomatopoeia for laughter)",
      "name": "bor+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Japanese ふふ (fufu, onomatopoeia for laughter).",
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "fu",
        "fu"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "intj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "onomatopoeia for laughter; especially a snicker",
          "word": "fufufu"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of fufufu (onomatopoeia for laughter; especially a snicker)."
      ],
      "id": "en-fufu-en-intj-o3I-7PAU",
      "links": [
        [
          "fandom",
          "fandom"
        ],
        [
          "fufufu",
          "fufufu#English"
        ],
        [
          "laughter",
          "laughter"
        ],
        [
          "snicker",
          "snicker"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(fandom slang, chiefly in translations of Japanese works) Alternative form of fufufu (onomatopoeia for laughter; especially a snicker)."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "in translations of Japanese works"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "lifestyle"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfuːˌfuː/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfuˌfu/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Izundu Okechukwu-Fufu.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːfuː"
    }
  ],
  "word": "fufu"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English interjections",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms borrowed from Japanese",
    "English terms derived from Japanese",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Manado Malay adjectives",
    "Manado Malay entries with incorrect language header",
    "Manado Malay lemmas",
    "Manado Malay terms borrowed from North Moluccan Malay",
    "Manado Malay terms derived from North Moluccan Malay",
    "Manado Malay terms derived from Ternate",
    "Manado Malay verbs",
    "Pages with 9 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/uːfuː",
    "Rhymes:English/uːfuː/2 syllables",
    "en:Foods"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "wp"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Q941004"
      },
      "expansion": "etymology 1 sense 1",
      "name": "senseno"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ln",
        "2": "fufú",
        "3": "",
        "t": "white-white"
      },
      "expansion": "Lingala fufú (“white-white”)",
      "name": "m+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From West African languages, such as Lingala fufú (“white-white”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "foofoo",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "foo-foo",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "foufou",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "fufu (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "fu",
        "fu"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              145,
              149
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "[1987 July 29, Steven Barboza, “Culinary Delights of Africa Reflect a Continent's Diversity”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Africans generally serve highly seasoned stews with a starch - corn, millet, yams, cassava or rice - which they mash and whip to a paste, called fufu in West Africa. This is topped with a sauce known as palava.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              51,
              55
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2018, Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death, HarperVoyager, page 192:",
          "text": "“I want some real food,” Binta angrily said. “Like fufu and egusi soup.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A dish of boiled, mashed cassava mixed with plantain, yams, or other starchy vegetables, common as food in West and Equatorial Africa and the Caribbean, and sometimes sold in dry powdered or granulated form."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "dish",
          "dish"
        ],
        [
          "cassava",
          "cassava"
        ],
        [
          "plantain",
          "plantain"
        ],
        [
          "yam",
          "yam"
        ],
        [
          "Africa",
          "Africa"
        ],
        [
          "Caribbean",
          "Caribbean"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "choke-me"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfuːˌfuː/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfuˌfu/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Izundu Okechukwu-Fufu.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːfuː"
    }
  ],
  "word": "fufu"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English interjections",
    "English lemmas",
    "English terms borrowed from Japanese",
    "English terms derived from Japanese",
    "Manado Malay adjectives",
    "Manado Malay entries with incorrect language header",
    "Manado Malay lemmas",
    "Manado Malay terms borrowed from North Moluccan Malay",
    "Manado Malay terms derived from North Moluccan Malay",
    "Manado Malay terms derived from Ternate",
    "Manado Malay verbs",
    "Pages with 9 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/uːfuː",
    "Rhymes:English/uːfuː/2 syllables",
    "en:Foods"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "ふふ",
        "pos": "onomatopoeia for laughter",
        "tr": "fufu"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Japanese ふふ (fufu, onomatopoeia for laughter)",
      "name": "bor+"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Borrowed from Japanese ふふ (fufu, onomatopoeia for laughter).",
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "fu",
        "fu"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "intj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "onomatopoeia for laughter; especially a snicker",
          "word": "fufufu"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English fandom slang"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of fufufu (onomatopoeia for laughter; especially a snicker)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fandom",
          "fandom"
        ],
        [
          "fufufu",
          "fufufu#English"
        ],
        [
          "laughter",
          "laughter"
        ],
        [
          "snicker",
          "snicker"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(fandom slang, chiefly in translations of Japanese works) Alternative form of fufufu (onomatopoeia for laughter; especially a snicker)."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "in translations of Japanese works"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "slang"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "lifestyle"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfuːˌfuː/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈfuˌfu/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Izundu Okechukwu-Fufu.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/3/3e/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Izundu_Okechukwu-Fufu.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-uːfuː"
    }
  ],
  "word": "fufu"
}

Download raw JSONL data for fufu meaning in English (5.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-14 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-02-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 59dc20b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.