坑 (kēng) · pit; hole; hollow

Meanings

1 pit; hole; hollow
2 to cheat; to swindle (verb)
3 to trap; to set someone up (verb)

Characters

坑

kēng

pit; hole; to cheat

Examples

HSK 1

这个卖家真坑人。

Zhège màijiā zhēn kēngrén.

This seller really cheats people.

HSK 2

别坑我！

Bié kēng wǒ!

Don't rip me off!

HSK 3

路上有一个大坑，小心！

Lùshàng yǒu yígè dà kēng, xiǎoxīn!

There's a big pothole on the road, watch out!

Tips

usage

Online, 入坑 ('fall into a pit') means getting hooked on a new hobby or fandom. 挖坑 ('dig a pit') means starting a story/project you'll never finish. 坑爹 is slang for 'what a rip-off!'

Components

radical

土 tǔ

earth; soil

Earth radical - pits and trenches are dug into the soil, so 坑 sits in the earth-radical family alongside 地 ground, 城 city-wall, 坡 slope, 埋 bury. The radical carries the literal-physical meaning while 亢 supplies the sound.

phonetic

亢 kàng

high; haughty; throat

Phonetic - 亢 kàng, 坑 kēng: same syllable family with a slight vowel/tone shift. Same phonetic recurs in 抗 resist, 炕 heated bed, 杭 (place name Hángzhōu). The 亢 originally pictured a person with a constricted throat, but in 坑 it functions purely as a sound element.