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窟窿 (kū long) — hole, cavity (in an object); financial deficit, debt; loophole (in law, contract, etc.)

Definition

窟窿 covers three senses: a physical hole (in a wall or object), a financial deficit, and a loophole in a contract or law. For a physical hole in a container or roof, prefer 漏洞; for body/tooth cavities use 空洞 or 蛀牙.

noun
holecavity (in an object)financial deficitdebtloophole (in law, contract, etc.)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 窟窿，。
    Qiáng shàng yǒu yí gè dà kū long, dé gǎn jǐn bǔ shàng.
    There's a big hole in the wall, we need to patch it up quickly.
  • 窟窿。
    Gōng sī jīn nián de cái wù kū long fēi cháng yán zhòng.
    The company's financial hole this year is very serious.
  • 窟窿，。
    Zhè fèn hé tong lǐ yǒu gè kū long, xū yào lǜ shī kàn yí xià.
    There's a loophole in this contract, a lawyer needs to take a look.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

窟kū
窿lóng

In 窟窿, 窟 and 窿 carry no meaning of their own; together they name a hole or gap.

Sound-only characters

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
穴穴xuéhole; cave
Sound part声符shēngfú
屈
屈qū窟
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

窟 is built from 穴 (hole; cave) plus 屈, which supplies the sound. The shape therefore marks a cave-like hole pronounced like 屈.

Open 窟 →

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
穴穴xué
Sound part声符shēngfú
隆
隆lóng窿lóng
Same sound today

窿 combines 穴, a hole or cave, with 隆, which gives the sound.

Open 窿 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.