The ukulele originated in the 19th century as a Hawaiian interpretation of small guitar-like instruments brought to Hawaii by Portuguese immigrants.
It gained great popularity elsewhere in the United States during the early 20th century, and from there spread internationally. In Hawaiian, ukulele roughly translates as jumping flea. Developed in the 1880s, ukulele is highly portable and relatively inexpensive. It has 4 strings, or sometimes 4 pairs of strings, and usually a body shape similar to that of a small acoustic guitar.
