How to Write 坑 (kēng) — Meaning “Pit; hole; to cheat.”

Imagine a person (like the character 亢) standing beside a pit (土) and falling into it—the sound "keng" mimics a thud. Or think of a "canyon" (sounds like kēng) as a big hole in the ground.

Write the left radical 土 with the top horizontal line shorter than the bottom one. Then write 亢: first the dot on top, then the horizontal stroke, and finally the curved legs—make sure the last stroke (儿-like part) is balanced and not too wide.

坑 means "pit" or "to cheat", while 圣 (shèng) means "holy" and has a different right side (又). 圤 (pǔ) is a rare character meaning "a piece of land" and looks like 土 with 卜 inside, not 亢. Visually, 坑 has the 土 radical on the left and 亢 on the right.

坑 is commonly used in words like 水坑 (puddle) and 坑人 (to cheat people). In internet slang, "坑" can mean a difficult situation or a trap, like "掉坑了" (fell into a trap). It is also used in names of places with pits or depressions.

Common words containing 坑 include: 水坑 (shuǐ kēng) — Puddle; 坑人 (kēng rén) — To cheat people.; 土坑 (tǔ kēng) — Pit; dirt hole.