坑洼 (kēng wā) — pothole; hollow; depression (in the ground) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

potholehollowdepression (in the ground)

Measure word · 个

Examples

坑洼，。
Zhè tiáo lù yǒu hěn duō kēng wā, kāi chē yào xiǎo xīn.
This road has many potholes; drive carefully.
坑洼。
Yǔ hòu dì shàng de kēng wā jī mǎn le shuǐ.
After the rain, the hollows on the ground are full of water.
坑洼。
Shī gōng duì zhèng zài tián píng nà xiē kēng wā.
The construction crew is filling in those depressions.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

洼wāhollow

“坑” hole and “洼” hollow are parallel features of uneven ground.

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.

亢土坑

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 窪; 洼 is its simplified writing.

穴洼窪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

穴穴xuéhole

Sound part声符shēngfú

洼

Same sound today

The traditional form 窪 pairs 穴 (hole) with a sound part written 洼; the simplified 洼 is a shorthand.

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