Recently, I’ve noticed a word making waves in the weibo-sphere and even in my oral English classes:
kēngdiē 坑爹 = dishonest [defraud father]
I’ve heard it used in the following contexts:
The kēngdiē doctors (坑爹的医生) didn’t know what they were talking about. They just told me to take some medicine and go home!
That cafeteria is so kēngdiē! I paid 7 yuan and only got a little plate of food.
Supposedly, it came from some Japanese cartoon but I’m not sure about the details.
I also asked my students if it was considered to be profanity (cūkǒu 粗口), and most of them say it’s not.
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This word is indeed very hot in the daily life and can also be found frequently in the publications in mainland China. Here is the link as below for your kind reference:
"坑人" has been in existence for as long as I've learned to speak Chinese.
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wherestip United States Local time: 20:12 Chinese to English + ...
坑爹
Nov 28, 2011
(cont'd) ... 而且自我称爹 的也是自古以来就大有人在的。So as far as Chinese usage is concerned, this is nothing new, IMO. The recent surge in usage on the web, if indeed true, could just be attributed to people getting more and more rude and abusive in their language and daily interaction with each other.
As for the implication that this might be popularized and become a standard English term, in my opinion there is no chance of this ever happening. There are plenty of existing English words that convey this meaning, whether noun, verb, or adjective.
Standard localized pidgin vernacular? ... Well, maybe.
[Edited at 2011-11-29 12:16 GMT]
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Phil Hand China Local time: 09:12 Member (2011) Chinese to English
All the way back to 西游记
Nov 29, 2011
When I first learned this particular bit of slang (I know it best in Minnanhua, where you use an alternative form for father: lim bei ga li gong (你爸跟你讲) - listen to me, you little punk!), I was very amused to find it right there in novels from hundreds of years ago...
这行者脚躧着虎怪的皮囊，手执着如意的铁棒，答道：“你孙外公在此，送出我师父来！”
There's no cursing like good old cursing.
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Li Jie China Local time: 09:12 Member (2008) English to Chinese + ...
It is to express one's anger and helpless
Nov 29, 2011
In my impression, people often use "坑爹" to express their anger and somewhat helpless. In most cases, it is used to blame things that are extremely unfair (such as power abusing) or some body who is so mean or shameless or unethical that he even cheats his closest and respected family member (his own father). While the one who is treated wrongly may complain or protest but probably it is effectless. So it is something like that you have to forgive the bad son since you are his father.
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jyuan_us United States Local time: 21:12 Member (2005) English to Chinese + ...
RIGHT
Nov 29, 2011
Li Jie wrote:
In my impression, people often use "坑爹" to express their anger and somewhat helpless. In most cases, it is used to blame things that are extremely unfair (such as power abusing) or some body who is so mean or shameless or unethical that he even cheats his closest and respected family member (his own father). While the one who is treated wrongly may complain or protest but probably it is effectless. So it is something like that you have to forgive the bad son since you are his father.
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wherestip United States Local time: 20:12 Chinese to English + ...
得罪祖宗
Dec 1, 2011
jyuan_us wrote:
Li Jie wrote:
In my impression, people often use "坑爹" to express their anger and somewhat helpless. In most cases, it is used to blame things that are extremely unfair (such as power abusing) or some body who is so mean or shameless or unethical that he even cheats his closest and respected family member (his own father). While the one who is treated wrongly may complain or protest but probably it is effectless. So it is something like that you have to forgive the bad son since you are his father.
According to the link that James provided, this could be a term originated in the region of Shensi province. As we know, Xi'an was the seat of government for long stretches of China's history. So, it shouldn't be surprising that some of today's speech patterns could be traced back to that region or ancient times.
From my experience, folks in that region indeed had some choice words on occasion, such as: "亏人", "坑爹", etc. ... as one could imagine, a few similar expletives are unprintable. . Perhaps another thing worth mentioning, is that most of these terms, as I recall, were always pronounced with a special local accent.
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The translation workplace 
. Perhaps another thing worth mentioning, is that most of these terms, as I recall, were always pronounced with a special local accent.