坎坷

坎坷

Chinese

		pit; threshold
simp. and trad. (坎坷)		坎	坷
alternative forms		坎軻／坎轲 埳坷 埳軻／埳轲 轗軻／𫐘轲 堿坷 坎軻／坎轲 埳坷 埳軻／埳轲 轗軻／𫐘轲 堿坷 㙳坷 輡軻／輡轲 坎碣 (-khia̍t/khiat) Min Nan 嵁硈 (-khia̍t/khiat) Min Nan

Etymology

Coined by Han dynasty's scholar Yang Xiong in his 《河東賦》 "Hedong Rhapsody", included in Book of Han:

濊南巢之坎坷兮，易豳岐之夷平。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

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𰛦南巢之坎坷兮，易豳岐之夷平。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Han, circa 1^st century CE

Huì Náncháo zhī kǎnkě xī, yì Bīn Qí zhī yípíng. [Pinyin]

Filthy are Nanchao's roughs; lively are Bin's and Qi's flats.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): kǎnkě

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄢˇ ㄎㄜˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ham² ho², ham¹ ho¹

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kham-khiet / kham-khiat
• Min Nan (POJ): khám-khó / khám-kho / khám-khia̍t / kham-khia̍t / khám-khiat

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: kǎnkě [Phonetic: kánkě]
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄢˇ ㄎㄜˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: kǎnkě
    • Wade–Giles: kʻan³-kʻo³
    • Yale: kǎn-kě
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kaankee
    • Palladius: канькэ (kanʹkɛ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰän²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: ham² ho², ham¹ ho¹
    • Yale: hám hó, hām hō
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ham² ho², ham¹ ho¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: hem² ho², hem¹ ho¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɐm³⁵ hɔː³⁵/, /hɐm⁵⁵ hɔː⁵⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kham-khiet
    • Hakka Romanization System: kam kied`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: kam<sup>4</sup> kiad<sup>5</sup>
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰam⁵⁵ kʰi̯et̚²/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kham-khiat
    • Hakka Romanization System: kam kiad`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: kam⁴ kiad⁵
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰam⁵⁵ kʰi̯at̚²/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khám-khó
    • Tâi-lô: khám-khó
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qafmqoir
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰam⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ kʰo⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kʰam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰo⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khám-kho
    • Tâi-lô: khám-kho
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qafmqoy
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰam⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ kʰɤ⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰo⁴⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khám-khia̍t
    • Tâi-lô: khám-khia̍t
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qafmqiat
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰam⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ kʰiɛt̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰam⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ kʰiɛt̚⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /kʰam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰiɛt̚⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kham-khia̍t
    • Tâi-lô: kham-khia̍t
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qamqiat
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kʰam⁴⁴⁻²² kʰiɛt̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kʰam⁴⁴⁻³³ kʰiɛt̚⁴/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kʰam⁴⁴⁻²² kʰiɛt̚⁴/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khám-khiat
    • Tâi-lô: khám-khiat
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qafmqiad
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰiɛt̚³²/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰam⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ kʰiɛt̚³²/

Note: khám-khia̍t/kham-khia̍t/khám-khiat - 坎碣 is used in the Mainland.

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• Middle Chinese: /kʰʌm^X  kʰɑ^X|kʰɑ^H/

Rime
Character	坎	坷	坷
Reading #	1/1	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)	溪 (29)	溪 (29)
Final (韻)	覃 (159)	歌 (94)	歌 (94)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I	I
Fanqie	苦感切	枯我切	口箇切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰʌmX/	/kʰɑX/	/kʰɑH/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰəmX/	/kʰɑX/	/kʰɑH/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰɒmX/	/kʰɑX/	/kʰɑH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰəmX/	/kʰaX/	/kʰaH/
Li Rong	/kʰᴀmX/	/kʰɑX/	/kʰɑH/
Wang Li	/kʰɒmX/	/kʰɑX/	/kʰɑH/
Bernard Karlgren	/kʰămX/	/kʰɑX/	/kʰɑH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	kǎn	kě	kè
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ham2	ho2	ho3

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*kʰoːmʔ  kʰaːlʔ|kʰaːls/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	坎
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	kǎn
Middle Chinese	‹ khomX ›
Old Chinese	/*[k]ʰˁomʔ/
English	pit (n.)
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	坎	坷	坷
Reading #	1/2	1/2	2/2
No.	10269	7449	7450
Phonetic component	欠	可	可
Rime group	談	歌	歌
Rime subdivision	3	1	1
Corresponding MC rime	坎	可	坷
Old Chinese	/*kʰoːmʔ/	/*kʰaːlʔ/	/*kʰaːls/

Adjective

坎坷

1. (of a road) bumpy

   • 踏平坎坷，成大道；鬥罷艱險，又出發，又出發。 [MSC, trad.]
     踏平坎坷，成大道；斗罢艰险，又出发，又出发。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1986, 閻肅 Yan Su (lyricist) & 許鏡清 Xu Jingqing (composer),《敢問路在何方》 "Dare I ask where is the road?"

     Tà píng kǎnkě, chéng dàdào; dòubà jiānxiǎn, yòu chūfā, yòu chūfā. [Pinyin]

     Trampling the roughs flat, into the great road; fighting and overcoming hardships and dangers, then starting again. Starting again.

2. (figuratively, of life) hard; rough; ill-fated; unfortunate; unfavoured

Synonyms

• (bumpy): 不平 (bùpíng)
• (hard): (literary) 乖舛 (guāichuǎn)

Derived terms

命途坎坷

坎坷不平