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坷

kě / kē
adjective #89,102

Meanings

  1. 1 bumpy; rough (of a road)
  2. 2 full of setbacks; hard (of a life), in 坎坷

Examples

尽管一生坎坷，他从未放弃。
Jǐnguǎn yìshēng kǎnkě, tā cóngwèi fàngqì.
Despite his rough, difficult life, he never gave up.
山路坎坷难行。
Shānlù kǎnkě nán xíng.
The mountain road was rough and hard to walk.

Tips

mistakes
Two readings. The common one is kě, in 坎坷 (kǎnkě), which means literally a bumpy road and figuratively a life full of hardship. The other reading kē is in the dialectal 坷垃 (kēlā, a clod of earth).

Components

radical
土 tǔ
earth; soil
The earth radical 土 on the left points to uneven ground, the bumpy earthen road behind both the literal and figurative meanings.
phonetic
可 kě
can; may (phonetic)
可 (kě, can) sits on the right and gives the sound. It underlies both readings kě and kē; it contributes no meaning here.

Stroke Order

坷 kě