坑人

kēngrén
verb #97,500

Meanings

  1. 1 to rip someone off
  2. 2 to swindle
  3. 3 to screw someone over
  4. 4 infuriatingly bad-value

Examples

HSK 3
Zhè jiā diàn zhēn kēngrén, yī píng shuǐ mài wǔshí kuài.
This shop is a total rip-off - fifty kuai for a bottle of water.
HSK 5
Zhǎo fángzi de shíhou yào xiǎoxin, yǒuxiē zhōngjiè hěn kēngrén.
Be careful when you look for an apartment, some agents really rip people off.

Tips

usage
Extremely common in spoken complaint speech. The base verb 坑 (kēng, 'pit') means 'to dig a pit for someone to fall into' → to set up / cheat. 坑爹 (kēng diē, lit. 'cheats your dad') is a popular online intensifier with the same meaning.
memory
Picture digging a literal 坑 (pit) for someone to fall into, you 坑 them. The hapless target = 人 (rén).

Stroke Order

坑 kēng
人 rén