Confucius (English)

Where does "Confucius" come from?

The name Confucius is a Latinized version of the Mandarin title 'Kǒng Fūzǐ', which translates to 'Master Kong.' Jesuit missionaries traveling to China in the 16th century fashioned this Latin form to introduce the influential philosopher to the Western world.

Full etymology tree

• Confucius (English), 'An influential Chinese philosopher who lived 551 B.C.E. – 479 B.C.E.; personal name Kong Qiu (孔丘).'
  • borrowed Confucius (Latin), 'Confucius'
    • borrowed 孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ) (Mandarin)
      • compound 孔 (Kǒng) (Mandarin)
      • compound 夫子 (Fūzǐ) (Mandarin)

Direct ancestors

• Confucius (Latin)

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris