坑 meaning and stroke order
Pit; hollow; depression; (mining) pit; shaft; tunnel; (literary) to bury alive
How to write 坑, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 7
Meaning of 坑
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- pit; hollow; depression
- (mining) pit; shaft; tunnel
- (literary) to bury alive
- (coll.) to cheat; to scam; to screw over
- variant of 坑[keng1]
How 坑 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 亢 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 坑
坑 is pictophonetic: 土 (tǔ, earth) on the left gives the meaning, and 亢 (kàng) on the right hints at the sound. Picture a hole dug into the earth, and you have a pit.
坑 is a noun for any pit, hole, or dip in the ground, as in 水坑 (shuǐkēng, puddle) and 矿坑 (kuàngkēng, mine shaft). In casual speech it is also a verb meaning to cheat or screw someone over. Example: 他坑了我一百块。 (Tā kēng le wǒ yìbǎi kuài.) He cheated me out of 100 yuan.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 坑 (kēng) with 炕 (kàng, a heated brick bed). They share 亢 but have different radicals and tones. Also remember 坑 is first tone, not fourth like 亢 (kàng).
Common words with 坑
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 水坑 | shuǐkēng | puddle; water hole | |
| 矿坑 | kuàngkēng | mine; mine shaft | |
| 火坑 | huǒkēng | pit of fire; fig. living hell | |
| 坑洞 | kēngdòng | hole; pit |
坑 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 坑
How many strokes are in 坑?
坑 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 坑 mean?
坑 (kēng) means pit; hollow; depression; (mining) pit; shaft; tunnel; (literary) to bury alive. A common word with it is 水坑 (shuǐkēng), meaning "puddle; water hole".
How do you pronounce 坑?
坑 is pronounced kēng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 坑?
The radical of 坑 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 坑 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 坑?
The traditional form of 坑 is 阬. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 坑 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 坑 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 坑 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 坑 mean in internet slang or gaming?
Online, 坑 often means a trap, a scam, or a frustrating situation. 挖坑 (wā kēng, to dig a pit) can mean starting a story you may never finish, and 坑队友 (kēng duìyǒu) means letting your teammates down.
How is 坑 different from 洞 (dòng)?
坑 is usually a pit or depression open at the top, like a hole in the road. 洞 is a hole or cave that goes into or through something, like a hole in a wall or a cave. The word 坑洞 (kēngdòng) combines both for a general hole or pit.