坑 (kēng): pit, hollow, depression, (mining) pit, shaft, tunnel, (literary) to bury alive
坑 (kēng) is a Chinese character meaning “pit.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 土 (semantic) and 亢 (phonetic). It ranks #2187 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 坑 earth. Its radical form 土 (earth) appears in many related characters such as 在 (zài, to exist), 地 (dì, earth, ground), 场 (chǎng, field, place).
Definitions
- pit
- hollow
- depression
- (mining) pit
- shaft
- tunnel
- (literary) to bury alive
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 火坑 | huǒ kēng | pit of fire |
| 水坑 | shuǐ kēng | puddle |
| 粪坑 | fèn kēng | latrine pit |
| 沙坑 | shā kēng | sandbox |
| 矿坑 | kuàng kēng | mine |
| 茅坑 | máo kēng | latrine pit |
| 弹坑 | dàn kēng | bomb crater |
| 坑道 | kēng dào | mine shaft |
| 陨石坑 | yǔn shí kēng | meteorite impact crater |
| 坑洞 | kēng dòng | hole |
| 泥坑 | ní kēng | mud pit |
| 坑坑洼洼 | kēng keng wā wā | full of pits and hollows |
| 坑洼 | kēng wā | hole |
| 凹坑 | āo kēng | concave depression |
| 满坑满谷 | mǎn kēng mǎn gǔ | (idiom) all over the place |
坑 appears in 58 compound words: 26 as the first character, 59 as the last, and 16 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 坑 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
"burning of books and burying of scholars" (anti-intellectual event during Qin dynasty)
to entrap, make blind, swindle and deceive; the various fraud techniques
"burning of books and burying of scholars" (anti-intellectual event during Qin dynasty)
to entrap, make blind, swindle and deceive; the various fraud techniques
Showing 4 of 5 idioms containing 坑.
Example Sentences
春天到了，农民开始翻坑播种。
chūn tiān dào le , nóng mín kāi shǐ fān kēng bō zhǒng .
Spring has arrived, and farmers have begun plowing their fields and sowing seeds.
广角镜/桃园鲁冰花季 大北坑休闲农业区登场
guǎng jiǎo jìng táo yuán lǔ bīng huā jì dà běi kēng xiū xián nóng yè qū dēng chǎng
Wide-angle lens/Taoyuan Lubing Flower Season Dabeikeng Leisure Agricultural Area debuted
...喝了酒,今天开车算酒驾吗?别被“隔夜酒”坑了
. . . hē le jiǔ , jīn tiān kāi chē suàn jiǔ jià ma ? bié bèi gé yè jiǔ kēng le
... After drinking, is driving drunk today? Don't be fooled by "overnight wine"
全国唯一官帽土地公!花坛白沙坑“百年迎灯排”3/1 登场
quán guó wéi yī guān mào tǔ dì gōng ! huā tán bái shā kēng bǎi nián yíng dēng pái 3 1 dēng chǎng
The only official hat land public in the country! The "Centennial Lantern Row" in the flower bed white sandpit appeared on 3/1
大坑上林天池屋9000万易手 内地客12年惨...
dà kēng shàng lín tiān chí wū 9 0 0 0 wàn yì shǒu nèi dì kè 1 2 nián cǎn . . .
Dakeng Shanglin Tianchiya changed hands for 90 million, and mainland customers have been miserable for 12 years...
...款20年 486先生:是投资还是给自己挖坑?
. . . kuǎn 2 0 nián 4 8 6 xiān shēng : shì tóu zī hái shì gěi zì jǐ wā kēng ?
... 20 years Mr. 486: Is it investment or digging a hole for yourself?
他愤怒地践踏水坑，弄得泥水四溅。
Tā fènnù de jiàntà shuǐkēng, nòng de níshuǐ sìjiàn.
Angrily, he stomped on the puddle, splashing mud everywhere.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 坑 (kēng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 坑 and 挂?
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What is the radical of 坑?
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Is 坑 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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