# 坎坷
## Chinese
### 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:
    From: The Book of Han, circa 1st 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): ham$^2$ ho$^2$ / ham$^1$ ho$^1$
* 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: kʻan$^3$-kʻo$^3$
*** Yale: kǎn-kě
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kaankee
*** Palladius: канькэ (kanʹkɛ)
*** Sinological IPA : /kʰän²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: ham$^2$ ho$^2$ / ham$^1$ ho$^1$
*** Yale: hám hó / hām hō
*** Cantonese Pinyin: ham$^2$ ho$^2$ / ham$^1$ ho$^1$
*** Guangdong Romanization: hem$^2$ ho$^2$ / hem$^1$ ho$^1$
*** Sinological IPA : /hɐm³⁵ hɔː³⁵/, /hɐm⁵⁵ hɔː⁵⁵/
* Hakka
** (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kham-khiet
*** Hakka Romanization System: kam kied$^ˋ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: kam$^4$ kiad$^5$
*** Sinological IPA: /kʰam⁵⁵ kʰi̯et̚²/
** (Southern Sixian, incl. Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kham-khiat
*** Hakka Romanization System: kam kiad$^ˋ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: kam$^4$ kiad$^5$
*** 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/
* 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$^H$/ |
| Bernard Karlgren | /kʰăm$^X$/ | /kʰɑ$^X$/ | /kʰɑ$^H$/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | kǎn | kě | kè |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | ham$^2$ | ho$^2$ | ho$^3$ |
* 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
    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

* 命途坎坷
* 坎坷不平