DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

挖坑

Mandarin · pinyin wā kēng

to dig a hole
(fig.) to make things difficult for sb
(neologism) (slang) (of a writer) to start work on a new project

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

挖: wā · dig, dig out, gouge out, scoop
坑: kēng · pit, hole; bury, trap; harry

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1 · wa1 keng1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

2character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

挖坑 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to dig a pit; to dig a hole on the ground
(figurative) to set up a trap
(neologism, by extension, Internet slang) (of a creator/author) to begin to create a new franchise; to start working on a new piece of creative work

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack