坑 kēng — pit; to defraud
路上有一个大坑，开车要小心。Lù shàng yǒu yí ge dà kēng, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.There is a big pit in the road; drive carefully.
Common words: 坑人 (kēng rén)、坑道 (kēng dào)、天坑 (tiān kēng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "pit"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "pit", including 坑 (kēng), 坎 (kǎn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "pit" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 坑 (kēng), 坎 (kǎn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span kēng, kǎn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 坑 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 坑 kēngpit; to defraudUseful words: 坑人, 坑道
- 坎 kǎnpit; thresholdUseful words: 坎子, 心坎
Common words for these 2 "pit" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 坑 (kēng) — so "pit" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "pit".
坎 kǎn — pit; threshold
人生的道路难免会有一些坎坷。Rén shēng de dào lù nán miǎn huì yǒu yì xiē kǎn kě.The road of life inevitably has some bumps.
Common words: 坎子 (kǎn zi)、心坎 (xīn kǎn)、坎儿 (kǎn r)
All 2 characters
Open 坑、坎 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.