行 (xíng): to walk, to go, to travel, to do, to perform, capable, competent, all right, OK, (bound form) row, line, (bound form) line of business, trade, profession
行 (xíng) is a Chinese character meaning “to walk.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 彳 (structural) and 亍 (structural). It ranks #53 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 行 to take small steps 亍 with one's feet 彳. Its radical form 行 (walk) appears in many related characters such as 街 (jiē, street), 衡 (héng, to weigh), 衍 (yǎn, to spread out).
Definitions
- to walk
- to go
- to travel
- to do
- to perform
- capable
- competent
- all right
- OK
- (bound form) row
- line
- (bound form) line of business
- trade
- profession
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo take small steps 亍 with one's feet 彳
Decomposition: ⿰彳亍 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 行 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 行
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 进行verb | jìn xíng | (of a process etc) to proceed | 4 |
| 行动verb/noun | xíng dòng | operation | 5 |
| 不行verb/adjective | bù xíng | won't do | 3 |
| 行为noun | xíng wéi | action | 5 |
| 银行noun | yín háng | bank | 3 |
| 旅行verb | lǚ xíng | to travel | 4 |
| 执行verb/adjective | zhí xíng | to implement | 5 |
| 举行verb | jǔ xíng | to hold (a meeting, ceremony etc) | 4 |
| 飞行verb | fēi xíng | (of planes etc) to fly | 5 |
| 行李noun | xíng li | luggage | 3 |
| 流行verb | liú xíng | (of a contagious disease etc) to spread | 4 |
| 自行车noun | zì xíng chē | bicycle | 3 |
| 飞行员noun | fēi xíng yuán | pilot | 5 |
| 行业noun | háng yè | trade | 5 |
| 银行卡noun | yín háng kǎ | bank card | 3 |
| 运行verb | yùn xíng | (of celestial bodies etc) to move along one's course | 6 |
| 行程noun | xíng chéng | journey | 5 |
| 发行verb | fā xíng | to publish | 6 |
| 步行verb | bù xíng | to go on foot | 5 |
| 履行verb | lǚ xíng | to fulfill (one's obligations) | 6 |
| 行驶verb | xíng shǐ | to travel along a route (of vehicles etc) | 5 |
| 可行adjective | kě xíng | feasible | 6 |
| 行走verb | xíng zǒu | to walk | 5 |
| 实行verb | shí xíng | to implement | 5 |
| 同行verb/noun | tóng háng | person of the same profession | 6 |
| 人行道noun | rén xíng dào | sidewalk | 6 |
| 通行verb | tōng xíng | to go through | 5 |
| 出行verb | chū xíng | to go out somewhere (relatively short trip) | 4 |
| 行人noun | xíng rén | pedestrian | 5 |
| 滑行verb | huá xíng | to slide | 6 |
| 旅行社noun | lǚ xíng shè | travel agency | 5 |
| 推行verb | tuī xíng | to implement | 6 |
| 各行各业phrase | gè háng gè yè | every trade | 5 |
| 衣食住行phrase | yī shí zhù xíng | (lit.) clothing, food, housing and transportation (idiom) | 6 |
行 appears in 122 compound words: 33 as the first character, 52 as the last, and 15 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 行 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (69)
it has been worthwhile; the journey has not been made in vain; the journey has been well worthwhile
cannot walk a step; difficult to move forward; difficult to make headway
to do things in a perverse way; to go against good; to commit evil deeds
to decide and act alone (idiom); to take arbitrary action; a law unto oneself
to go one's own way (idiom); to act independently without asking others
all walks of life, with special reference to occupation; every trade; all professions; all classes of society
each acting what they think is right; each going their own way; to vary; to differ
it has been worthwhile; the journey has not been made in vain; the journey has been well worthwhile
to decide and act alone (idiom); to take arbitrary action; a law unto oneself
to go one's own way (idiom); to act independently without asking others
Showing 12 of 69 idioms containing 行.
Example Sentences
这个计划行不通，我们需要重新考虑其他方案。
Zhè gè jìhuà xíng bù tōng, wǒmen xūyào chóngxīn kǎolǜ qítā fāng'àn.
This plan won't work; we need to reconsider other options.
杭州一步行街被指写错北宋诗人名字,“晁冲之”写成“...
háng zhōu yī bù háng jiē bèi zhǐ xiě cuò běi sòng shī rén míng zì , 晁 chōng zhī xiě chéng . . .
A pedestrian street in Hangzhou was accused of writing the name of a Northern Song poet wrongly, "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi", "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi", "Chao Chongzhi", "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi"...
被抓现行!菲律宾海警在南海投放不明物体
bèi zhuā xiàn háng ! 菲 lǜ bīn hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī
Caught in the act! Philippine Maritime Police Drop Unidentified Objects in South China Sea
俄罗斯莫斯科地铁举行中国春节主题列车发车仪式
é luó sī mò sī kē dì tiě jǔ háng zhōng guó chūn jié zhǔ tí liè chē fā chē yí shì
Moscow Metro Holds Launch Ceremony for Chinese New Year-Themed Train
中外交流|塞尔维亚举行系列新春庙会活动庆祝中国年
zhōng wài jiāo liú sāi ěr wéi yà jǔ háng xì liè xīn chūn miào huì huó dòng qìng zhù zhōng guó nián
International Exchange | Serbia Hosts Series of Spring Festival Fair Activities to Celebrate Chinese New Year
青春志愿行 温暖糖球会——青岛公交2路青年党团员助...
qīng chūn zhì yuàn háng wēn nuǎn táng qiú huì qīng dǎo gōng jiāo lù qīng nián dǎng tuán yuán zhù . . .
Youth Volunteer Initiative: Warmth at the Candy Ball Event — Qingdao Bus Route 2 Youth Party and League Members Assist...
你能把你的自行车借给我吗？
Nǐ néng bǎ nǐ de zìxíngchē jiè gěi wǒ ma?
Can you lend me your bicycle?
你的新电脑运行得好吗？
Nǐ de xīn diànnǎo yùnxíng de hǎo ma?
Does your new computer run well?
这辆自行车是谁的？
Zhè liàng zìxíngchē shì shéi de?
Whose bike is this?
我能用旅行支票付吗？
Wǒ néng yòng lǚxíngzhīpiào fù ma?
Can I pay with a travelers check?
Character Family
行 Radical Family — Characters sharing the walk radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 行 (xíng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 行 and 来?
How many strokes does 行 have?
What is the radical of 行?
What are the components of 行?
What are common words containing 行?
What characters sound the same as 行 (xíng)?
Is 行 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 行 with real-time feedback
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