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／𰺐轲坎碣 (-khia̍t/khiat) Min Nan 嵁硈 (-khia̍t/khiat) Min Nan

Etymology

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Reduplicaltion of 坎 (OC *kʰoːmʔ)?”

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.]

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
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): khám-khó / khám-kho / khám-khia̍t / kham-khia̍t / khám-khiat

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–Hong Kong)⁺
  - 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^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: kam⁴ kiad⁵
  - Sinological IPA: /kʰam⁵⁵ kʰi̯et̚²/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kham-khiat
  - Hakka Romanization System: kam kiad^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: kam⁴ kiad⁵
  - Sinological IPA: /kʰam⁵⁵ kʰi̯at̚²/
Southern Min
- (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.

Middle Chinese: khomX khaX|khaH

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
Baxter	khomX	khaX	khaH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰʌm^X/	/kʰɑ^X/	/kʰɑ^H/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰəm^X/	/kʰɑ^X/	/kʰɑ^H/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰɒm^X/	/kʰɑ^X/	/kʰɑ^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰəm^X/	/kʰa^X/	/kʰa^H/
Li Rong	/kʰᴀm^X/	/kʰɑ^X/	/kʰɑ^H/
Wang Li	/kʰɒm^X/	/kʰɑ^X/	/kʰɑ^H/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kʰăm^X/	/kʰɑ^X/	/kʰɑ^H/
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	‹ khom^X ›
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

(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 the road is?"
  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.
(figurative, of life) hard; rough; ill-fated; unfortunate; unfavoured

Synonyms

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

Derived terms