The spelling fung shway is the most common misspelling in the English language of the term feng shui. It's not uncommon for native English speakers to misspell the term, since its spelling isn't phonetic.
Fung Shway Phonetic Spelling: A Common Error
According to Google's adwords keyword tool, approximately one out of every 125 internet searchers mistakenly type in the term fung shway instead of feng shui. This is mainly due to the fact that when many people look up search terms on their computer, they spell the words phonetically. Phonetic spelling is when people spell words exactly as they are pronounced.
When an internet searcher types in fung shway as the search term, he is inputting the letters for the correct spelling of how the words are pronounced. However, it is not the correct spelling of the words in the English language.
Common Misspellings of Feng Shui
The term feng shui is one of the most misspelled terms in the English language. Many times both words are misspelled in some way, other times one word is misspelled and the other is spelled correctly and occasionally it is misspelled as one word.
There are dozens of common misspellings for the words feng shui including:
- Fung shway
- Feng shway
- Fang shway
- Feng shue
- Feng sui
- Fen shui
- Fung shui
- Fang shui
- Fengshui
- Fun shui
- Fenshui
- Feng shu
- Feng shei
- Feng shuei
- Feng shi
- Feng shiu
The Etymology and History of Feng Shui
The etymology of the words feng shui derives from the ancient Chinese language. In the literal translation from Chinese to English, the words feng shui means wind and water. In ancient times, feng shui was known as kan-yu. The term kan-yu is still considered the proper term for feng shui in many parts of the modern world. The literal translation of kan-yu refers to those two theories of Chinese history:
- Kan means cosmology in theory
- Yu means terrestrial in theory
- Kan-yu refers to the theory of location and time in Chinese history and means The Law of Heaven and Earth.
According to information on the website Feng Shui Facts, the first time the term feng shui was ever used in recorded history was in Guo Pu's Book of Burial, the Zhang Shu, written during the years of the Zhou Dynasty (Approximately 1100-256 B.C.) In his book, Guo Pu wrote Qi rides the wind (feng) and scatters, but is retained when encountering water (shui). As a famous geographer of his time, Guo Po received nine volumes of Kan Yu books from his teacher Guo Gong. It is from these books he culled the knowledge to write the famed Chinese burial classic, giving rise to the popular term feng shui.
Feng Shui and You
The meaning of the words feng shui, wind and water, is a metaphor for the power that nature has in our world. It teaches the fact that mankind must respect the mighty power of nature and the universe. Practitioners and consultants throughout the history of feng shui have worked to generate chi energy to promote health, happiness and prosperity by living in harmony with nature and their environment.
By following the basic principles of feng shui, incorporating feng shui elements and colors into your home and life and learning the proper application of feng shui cures, auspicious chi will flow freely through your home bringing you all the benefits associated with feng shui.
How to Pronounce Feng Shui
While it is pronounced fung shway, the proper spelling is feng shui. Whether you search for the term feng shui or fung shway, the search engines produce great results bringing you one step closer to reaping the benefits of this ancient Chinese art form.
