坎

坎 U+574E, 坎 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-574E ← 坍 [U+574D] CJK Unified Ideographs 坏 → [U+574F]

See also: ☵

Translingual

Han character

坎 (Kangxi radical 32, 土+4, 7 strokes, cangjie input 土弓人 (GNO), four-corner 4718₂, composition ⿰土欠)

Derived characters

• 崁, 莰, 𥦔, 𬁄, 䤰, 𠥈

Further reading

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 225, character 12
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 4928
• Dae Jaweon: page 460, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 425, character 4
• Unihan data for U+574E

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 坎
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (欠) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
坎	*kʰoːmʔ, *kʰoːms
扻	*kʰoːmʔ
砍	*kʰoːmʔ
芡	*ɡromʔ
欠	*kʰoms
杴	*qʰom
鍁	*qʰam

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *kʰoːmʔ, *kʰoːms): semantic 土 (“earth; soil”) + phonetic 欠 (OC *kʰoms).

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		坎
alternative forms		埳

Related to 磡 (OC *kʰuːms, “embankment”) (Schuessler, 2007); see there for more.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): kǎn (kan³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄎㄢˇ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): kan³

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ham² / ham¹ / ham³
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): khám

  (Hailu, HRS): kam^ˊ

  (Meixian, Guangdong): kam³

• Northern Min (KCR): kǎng
• Eastern Min (BUC): kāng
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): kang³
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): khám

  (Teochew, Peng'im): kam²

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵khe

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: kǎn
    • Zhuyin: ㄎㄢˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: kǎn
    • Wade–Giles: kʻan³
    • Yale: kǎn
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kaan
    • Palladius: кань (kanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰän²¹⁴/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: kan³
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: kan
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰan⁵³/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: ham² / ham¹ / ham³
    • Yale: hám / hām / ham
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ham² / ham¹ / ham³
    • Guangdong Romanization: hem² / hem¹ / hem³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɐm³⁵/, /hɐm⁵⁵/, /hɐm³³/

Note: ham3 - in 赤坎.

• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: khám
    • Hakka Romanization System: kam^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: kam³
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰam³¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: kam^ˊ
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰam²⁴/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: kam³
    • Sinological IPA: /kʰam³¹/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: kǎng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰaŋ²¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: kāng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰaŋ³³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: kang³
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: kâng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰaŋ⁴⁵³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: kang³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰaŋ³³²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khám
    • Tâi-lô: khám
    • Phofsit Daibuun: qarm
    • IPA (Xiamen): /kʰam⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kʰam⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /kʰam⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /kʰam⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /kʰam⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: kam²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: khám
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰam⁵²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵khe
    • MiniDict: khe^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²khe
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /kʰe³⁴/

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• Middle Chinese: khomX

Rime
Character	坎
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	溪 (29)
Final (韻)	覃 (159)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	苦感切
Baxter	khomX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kʰʌmX/
Pan Wuyun	/kʰəmX/
Shao Rongfen	/kʰɒmX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kʰəmX/
Li Rong	/kʰᴀmX/
Wang Li	/kʰɒmX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kʰămX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	kǎn
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ham2

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[k]ʰˤomʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*kʰoːmʔ/, /*kʰoːms/

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	坎
Reading #	1/2	2/2
No.	10269	10272
Phonetic component	欠	欠
Rime group	談	談
Rime subdivision	3	3
Corresponding MC rime	坎	勘
Old Chinese	/*kʰoːmʔ/	/*kʰoːms/
Notes		墈正體

Definitions

坎

1. (literary) pit; hole

   • 小臣爪足，浴餘水棄于坎。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     小臣爪足，浴余水弃于坎。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Book of Rites, c. 4^th – 2^nd century BCE

     Xiǎochén zhǎo zú, yù yú shuǐ qì yú kǎn. [Pinyin]

     Another servant then pared the nails of the feet, after which they threw away the rest of the water into the pit.

2. bank or ridge between fields

   田坎  ―  tiánkǎn  ―  ridge between fields

3. critical juncture (Classifier: 道 m)
4. 6th of the 8 trigrams (☵)
5. 29th hexagram of the I Ching (䷜)
6. short for 坎德拉 (kǎndélā)
7. a surname

Compounds

• 命途坎坷
• 坎井之蛙
• 坎兒 / 坎儿
• 坎兒井 / 坎儿井 (kǎnrjǐng)
• 坎坎
• 坎坷 (kǎnkě)
• 坎城影展
• 坎培拉 (Kǎnpéilā)
• 坎壈 / 坎𡒄
• 坎帕拉 (Kǎnpàlā)
• 坎窞
• 坎肩 (kǎnjiān)
• 坎阱 (kǎnjǐng)
• 屯坎
• 心坎 (xīnkǎn)
• 流行坎止
• 烏坎 / 乌坎 (Wūkǎn)
• 石坎
• 羅坎 / 罗坎 (Luókǎn)
• 習坎 / 习坎
• 落坎兒 / 落坎儿
• 號坎兒 / 号坎儿
• 調坎 / 调坎
• 門坎 / 门坎 (ménkǎn)
• 闊其坎 / 阔其坎 (Kuòqíkǎn)
• 阿克提坎墩 (Ākètíkǎndūn)

Descendants

• → Proto-Tai: *C̬.kumᴬ
  • Thai: ขุม (kǔm, “pit”)

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		坎
alternative forms		簡／简 揀／拣

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): kaan²

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: kaan²
    • Yale: káan
    • Cantonese Pinyin: kaan²
    • Guangdong Romanization: kan²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰaːn³⁵/

Definitions

坎

1. (Cantonese, mahjong) three tiles; set of pung or chow
   • 1976, “打雀英雄傳”, 許冠傑 [Sam Hui], 黎彼得 [Peter Lai] (lyrics), performed by 許冠傑 [Sam Hui]:

     混一色　碰七筒　一揀白板發財做眼槓紅中 [Cantonese, trad.]
     混一色　碰七筒　一拣白板发财做眼杠红中 [Cantonese, simp.]

     wan⁶ jat¹ sik¹, pung³ cat¹ tung⁴, jat¹ kaan² baak⁶ baan² faat³ coi⁴ zou⁶ ngaan⁵ gong³ hung⁴ zung¹ [Jyutping]

     half flush // formed a seven-circle pung // three white dragons, green dragons as eyes, and a kong of red dragon

Compounds

• 坎坎糊 (kaan² kaan² wu^4-2)

References

• “坎”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–