窟

Tap the pinyin to hear it

cave; hole

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

穴 meaning “cave” + 屈 sound ( qū )

Components 穴屈

den · Heisig RSH #2360

穴 hole + 屈 knuckle under

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
龙门石窟	Lóng mén Shí kū	Longmen Grottoes at Luoyang 洛陽\|洛阳[Luo4 yang2], Henan
四大石窟	sì dà shí kū	the four great caves, namely: Longmen Grottoes 龍門石窟\|龙门石窟[Long2 men2 Shi2 ku1] at Luoyang, …
麦积山石窟	Mài jī Shān Shí kū	Mt Maiji Caves at Tianshui 天水, Gansu
销金窟	xiāo jīn kū	money squandering establishment (e.g. gambling den, brothel etc)
莫高窟	Mò gāo kū	Mogao caves in Dunhuang 敦煌, Gansu
云冈石窟	Yún gāng Shí kū	Yungang Caves at Datong 大同, Shanxi 山西
贫民窟	pín mín kū	slum housing
石窟	shí kū	rock cave; grotto; cliff caves (often with Buddhist statues)
吴哥窟	Wú gē kū	Angkor Wat, temple complex in Cambodia
洞窟	dòng kū	a cave
魔窟	mó kū	lit. nest of devils; place occupied by sinister forces
狡兔三窟	jiǎo tù sān kū	lit. a crafty rabbit has three burrows; a sly individual has more than one plan to fall ba…
敦煌石窟	Dūn huáng shí kū	Dunhuang caves in Gansu; refers to Mogao caves 莫高石窟[Mo4 gao1 shi2 ku1]
窟窿眼	kū long yǎn	small hole
窟臀	kū tún	buttocks (dialect)
窟窿	kū long	hole; pocket; cavity; loophole; debt

Characters sharing the sound component 屈 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
屈 sound part	qū	to bend, to flex; bent, crooked, crouched
掘	jué	to dig, to excavate
崛	jué	towering; eminent; a sudden rise
堀	kū	cave, hole