Hadoken Explained: What Street Fighter's Legendary Words Actually Mean

Street Fighter II is the perfect video game sequel. It took an archaic fighting title and turned it into one of the most influential games of all time. SFII also marked a step up in what arcade hardware could do, showcasing some fancy digitized voices that gave each character a bit more personality. Hadoken!

As great as hearing Ryu and Ken finally speak really was, it came with some caveats. The sound bytes used for each character had to be compressed as much as they could, resulting in the audio appearing a bit muffled. Add to that the chaos of all the other special effects and the background noise of an arcade and what you get is a collection of characters screaming all sorts of crazy stuff. That’s how you end up with Ryu wanting some pound cake.

Have you ever wondered what the characters were really saying during these intense combats? Nowadays, Street Fighter special attacks are mostly common knowledge, but just to refresh our memory a bit, let’s go over what these cryptic sound bytes (like Hadoken) actually meant.

Chun-Li’s Spinning Bird Kick

This martial arts master from China is well-known for her mastery of kicking techniques. Though most games have her use her Hyakuretsukyaku attack as his iconic skill (and also appears in Fortnite as an emote,) Street Fighter II also introduced fans to the Spinning Bird Kick.

Chun-Li comes from China, but in the game, she speaks perfect Japanese – more or less. Her attack is pronounced in Japanese but written in English, so she ends up saying Supiningu Bādo Kikku – Spinning Bird Kick. It’s an easy one to miss, but it makes sense once you isolate the sound bite. By the way, Chun-Li also says Yatta! when she wins, which is the Japanese way of saying “Yeah!” It’s a rather common phrase you’ll hear in most Japanese games.

E. Honda’s Sumo Moves

Just like Chun-Li, E. Honda’s most popular technique, Hyakuretsu Harite, thankfully goes unpronounced in the game. He does, however, use a popular Japanese phrase that most sumo enthusiasts will likely be familiar with.

Whenever he uses his Super Zutsuki attack, Honda will say Dosukoi, as he flies headfirst into his opponent. Dosukoi is a phrase that sumo wrestlers use as a form of battle cry, showcasing their bravery and guts. Think of it as Macho Man’s Oh Yeah, only more Japanese.

Ryu and Ken’s Ansatsuken Techniques

At last, the most popular of the Street Fighter special attacks clearly belong to Ryu and Ken, the de facto faces of the franchise. Just like Goku’s Kamehameha, every attack used by this dynamic duo has become a landmark for the Street Fighter name, and most of them originate from the legendary Street Fighter II.

In all of their compressed sound bite glory, there was no way most people clearly understood what they said when the two used their Hadoken techniques. This energy wave attack means just that: an energy wave punch, which in Japanese is a way of saying that the user emits “ki” from their hands to harm the opponent.

The other technique at Ryu and Ken’s disposal is the fabled Shoryuken. No, Ryu’s not saying he’ll “Show you Ken.” Shoryuken translates to Rising Dragon Punch – fitting for a powerful, ki-infused uppercut like this one.

Finally, there’s the most misheard technique in the game. Tatsumaki Senpukyaku is Ken and Ryu’s most powerful spinning kick, and its tongue twister of a name has become a bit of a running meme within the fighting game community. The move’s name literally translates from Japanese to Tornado Whirlwind Leg. That doesn’t exactly sound like the name of a special technique, which is why the game mostly refers to the attack as the Hurricane Kick in English.