坑 means “pit, mine shaft”

こう · kou

Also: hole

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

コウ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 7 strokes

The story

Earth (土) beside 亢, the part of 抗, to resist: picture ground that fought every swing of the pick until a shaft was cut into it. 炭坑 is a coal mine, and 坑道 are the tunnels miners dug, on Nagasaki's 軍艦島 even under the sea.

Used in 坑道 (koudou, mine tunnel), 炭坑 (tankou, coal mine), and 廃坑 (haikou, abandoned mine)

More from Peaks & Caves

• 麓 foot of a mountain
• 窟 cavern
• 塚 mound
• 岳 high mountain
• 丘 hill
• 洞 cave
• 峡 gorge
• 峰 peak
• 峠 mountain pass

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.