坑 (kēng) is a Chinese character meaning “a pit”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “pit; hole”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 亢
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（土3画＋亢4画＝7画）
Memory aid
Earth (土) on the left, and 亢 kàng on the right handing over the sound kēng: dig the earth out and what stays behind is a pit.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 水坑shuǐ kēngpuddle坑 = kēng
- 泥坑ní kēngmud pit; mire坑 = kēng
Go deeper
All readings
pit; hole
a pit; a hole in the ground; a hollow
地面上凹下去的地方；洼下的坑穴。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 水坑shuǐ kēngpuddle坑 = kēng
- 泥坑ní kēngmud pit; mire坑 = kēng
Sound component
亢 family rime near
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 坑 mean?
坑 (kēng) means a pit; a hole in the ground; a hollow.
How do you pronounce 坑?
It is pronounced kēng.
What parts is 坑 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 亢 (high; haughty (used here as the sound part)), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（土3画＋亢4画＝7画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 坑 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 坑?
土. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 坑?
Common ones are 水坑 and 泥坑. The reading of 坑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.