凹坑 (āo kēng) — concave depression; crater

Definition

凹坑 (āokēng) is a small concave depression or pit in a surface — like lunar craters or dents left by rain on pavement. Pairs with 表面 / 上 to specify where the dip is.

noun
concave depressioncrater
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 凹坑。
    Yuè qiú biǎo miàn yǒu hěn duō āo kēng.
    There are many craters on the surface of the moon.
  • 凹坑。
    Zhè piàn cǎo dì shàng yǒu yí gè hěn shēn de āo kēng.
    There is a very deep concave depression in this meadow.
  • ，凹坑。
    Dà yǔ guò hòu, lù miàn shàng chū xiàn le hěn duō xiǎo āo kēng.
    After the heavy rain, many small concave depressions appeared on the road.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

凹āoconcave
坑kēngpit

凹 (concave) and 坑 (pit) combine to denote a hollow depression in a surface.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

Open 凹 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔsoil
Sound part声符shēngfú
亢
亢kàng坑kēng(r)
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The current form 坑 uses 土 (soil) for the meaning and 亢 for the sound.

Open 坑 →

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