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火坑 (huǒ kēng) — fiery pit (literal); (figurative) abyss of suffering; hellish situation, especially the life of prostitution

Definition

A literal 'fiery pit' used figuratively for any unbearable, hellish situation — especially a trapped or exploited life (e.g. prostitution). The image is of falling into something from which escape is nearly impossible.

noun
fiery pit (literal)(figurative) abyss of sufferinghellish situation, especially the life of prostitution
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，火坑。
    Tā wèi le huán zhài, bù dé bú tiào jìn le zhè ge huǒ kēng.
    He had no choice but to jump into this fiery pit to pay off his debts.
  • ，火坑。
    Tā bèi piàn dào guó wài, diào jìn le huǒ kēng.
    She was tricked into going abroad and fell into a living hell.
  • 火坑，。
    Nà ge dì fāng jiǎn zhí jiù shì rén jiān huǒ kēng, méi rén yuàn yì qù.
    That place is simply a hell on earth — no one wants to go there.

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.

火huǒfire
坑kēngpit

The idea of 火 'fire' describes the kind of 坑 'pit', giving a fiery pit.

Characters in this word

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

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

Open 火 →

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 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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