The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of a small guitar-like instrument brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants.[2] It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century, and from there spread internationally.
The ukulele (pronounced /jukleli/ YOO-k-LAY-lee, from Hawaiian: ukulele [ukulele]; variantly spelled ukelele in the UK), sometimes abbreviated as the uke, is a chordophone classified as a plucked lute; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings.