泥坑 (ní kēng) — mud pit

Definition

noun
mud pit
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ,泥坑。
    Yǔ hòu, lù shang chū xiàn le yí gè dà ní kēng.
    After the rain, a big mud pit appeared on the road.
  • 泥坑,。
    Tā de chē xiàn jìn le ní kēng lǐ, chū bù lái le.
    His car got stuck in a mud pit and couldn't get out.
  • 泥坑,。
    Hái zi men zài ní kēng biān wán shuǎ, nòng dé mǎn shēn shì ní.
    The children were playing by the mud pit and got covered in mud.

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.

“泥” is mud and “坑” is a pit, so the image is a pit filled with mud.

Characters in this word

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
尼
尼ní泥nì
Same sound today

The left side is 氵, the water part; the right side is 尼, which gives the sound.

Open 泥 →

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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