他花了很多功夫才学会做这道菜。

tā huā le hěn duō gōngfu cái xuéhuì zuò zhè dào cài.

He put in a lot of effort before he learned how to cook this dish.

李师傅的功夫很厉害，在比赛中拿了第一名。

lǐ shīfu de gōngfu hěn lìhai, zài bǐsài zhōng ná le dì yī míng.

Master Li's kung fu is very impressive; he won first place in the competition.

学好一门语言需要下很大的功夫。

xué hǎo yī mén yǔyán xūyào xià hěn dà de gōngfu.

Mastering a language requires a great deal of effort.