茅坑 (máokēng): latrine pit

Meanings

1 latrine pit
2 outhouse hole
3 pit toilet (especially in rural areas)

Characters

茅

Examples

村子里以前都用茅坑。

Cūnzi lǐ yǐqián dōu yòng máokēng.

Villages used to all have pit latrines.

占着茅坑不拉屎。

Zhàn zhe máokēng bù lā shǐ.

Hogging the latrine without doing your business. (idiom: a dog in the manger — taking a position without doing the job)

Tips

culture

茅坑 originally meant a pit toilet inside a thatched (茅) shed — common in pre-modern villages. The set phrase 占着茅坑不拉屎 ('hogging the latrine without crapping') is one of the most-used Chinese sayings for someone who occupies a role/position without doing the work — equivalent to the English 'dog in the manger'.

register

Crude / rural register. For modern toilets use 厕所 (cèsuǒ) or 卫生间 (wèishēngjiān). 茅坑 today is mostly used in the idiom above or in nostalgic/rural references.