ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

to go; okay; capable

xíng
6 strokes · 行 (its own radical) — a crossroads seen from above · HSK 2

Where 行 comes from

Oracle-bone 行 is an aerial view of a crossroads — four ways meeting. Everything it means flows from there: going, movement, a road, and (read háng) a row or a trade — the shops lining the street.

行 in Chinese culture

行! is the all-purpose Chinese 'OK, works for me'; 不行 is a flat no. 行 read xíng moves: 自行车 bicycle, 旅行 travel, 飞行 flight. Read háng it stands still: 银行 bank, 行业 industry. 你真行! means 'you're really something!'

Example

自行车 zìxíngchē — bicycle

行,没问题!
Xíng, méi wèntí!
Okay, no problem!

How to remember it

A crossroads — where GOING happens; if the way is open, it's OKAY: 行!

三人行,必有我师 'when three walk together, one can teach me something' — Confucius's most quoted line about humility, built on 行 as walking.

Same sound, different tones

1st xīng
star
2nd xíng
to go; okay
3rd xǐng
to wake
4th xìng
surname

Words unlocked by 行

行! xíng!
okay!
不行 bù xíng
no way; won't do
旅行 lǚxíng
to travel
银行 yínháng
bank (háng!)

Related characters

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