坎 (kǎn): pit; hole

Measure Word

一道坎 dào

Rénshēng zǒng huì yùdào yìxiē kǎn.

Life always brings some difficulties.

Tā màiguò le rénshēng zhōng zuì dà de yí dào kǎn.

He got past the biggest hurdle in his life.

Lù shang yǒu yí gè xiǎo kǎn, xiǎoxīn bié shuāidǎo.

There's a small bump on the road, be careful not to trip.

usage

The figurative meaning 'hurdle/difficulty' is very common, especially in 过坎 (get past a difficulty) and 一道坎 (a hurdle).

culture

坎 (Kǎn) is one of the Eight Trigrams (八卦) representing water and danger in the I Ching.

坎 kǎn