行

See also: 彳亍

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

行 (Kangxi radical 144, 行+0, 6 strokes, cangjie input 竹人一一弓 (HOMMN), four-corner 2122₁, composition ⿰彳亍)

1. Kangxi radical #144, ⾏.

Usage notes

行 itself is also used as a radical (in addition to 彳); unusually for radicals, the phonetic is placed in the middle – with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right – corresponding to the phonetic originally being placed at the middle of the intersection.

Derived characters

• Index:Chinese radical/行
• 鵆

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1108, character 31
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 34029
• Dae Jaweon: page 1570, character 31
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 811, character 6
• Unihan data for U+884C

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		行

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 行
Shang	Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Warring States			Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)	Libian (compiled in Qing)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts	Clerical script

Characters in the same phonetic series (行) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
筕	*ɡaːŋ, *ɡraːŋ
桁	*ɡaːŋ, *ɡraːŋ
行	*ɡaːŋ, *ɡaːŋs, *ɡraːŋ, *ɡraːŋs
胻	*ɡaːŋ, *ɡraːŋ, *ɡraːŋs
衡	*ɡraːŋ
蘅	*ɡraːŋ
珩	*ɡraːŋ
洐	*ɡraːŋ
荇	*ɡraːŋʔ
絎	*ɡraːŋs

Pictogram (象形) – a street intersection.

Originally symmetric, it has been simplified asymmetrically; the left half 彳 is widely used as a radical, while the right half 亍 finds occasional use, and the character can be broken up as 彳 + 亍, though originally it was not a compound.

Pronunciation 1

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 行

1. (literary or dialectal) to walk
2. to go; to move
3. to carry out; to execute
4. to perform (a salute)
5. OK; good

   行，就這麼定了。 [MSC, trad.]
   行，就这么定了。 [MSC, simp.]

   Xíng, jiù zhème dìng le. [Pinyin]

   OK, it's a deal.

6. to be good; to work

   我覺得這方法行。 [MSC, trad.]
   我觉得这方法行。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ juéde zhè fāngfǎ xíng. [Pinyin]

   I think this will work.

7. to be good (opposed to bad) (usually in negative sentences, or with 還／还)

   我成績不行。／我成绩不行。  ―  Wǒ chéngjì bù xíng.  ―  I have bad grades.

8. to be able to do something (usually mentioned before)

   • 他能四分鐘跑一公里，我不行。 [MSC, trad.]
     他能四分钟跑一公里，我不行。 [MSC, simp.]

     Tā néng sì fēnzhōng pǎo yī gōnglǐ, wǒ bù xíng. [Pinyin]

     He can run a kilometer within 4 minutes. I can't (do that).

Usage notes

Notice that when meaning “be able to do something”, 行 can only be used without a complement. This is different from 能 (néng, “to be able to (do something)”).

Pronunciation 2

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 行

1. profession; industry; trade; business
2. place for specific transaction

   銀行／银行  ―  yínháng  ―  bank [lit. money store]

   珠寶行／珠宝行  ―  zhūbǎoháng  ―  jewellery store

3. line of objects; row

Pronunciation 3

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 行

1. behaviour; conduct

Pronunciation 4

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): héng, háng (heng², hang²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄥˊ, ㄏㄤˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hang⁶
• Eastern Min (BUC): hâing
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hēng

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: héng
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: héng
    • Wade–Giles: hêng²
    • Yale: héng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: herng
    • Palladius: хэн (xɛn)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤŋ³⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: háng
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄤˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: háng
    • Wade–Giles: hang²
    • Yale: háng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: harng
    • Palladius: хан (xan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɑŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: hang⁶
    • Yale: hahng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hang⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: heng⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɐŋ²²/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: hâing
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /haiŋ²⁴²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hēng
    • Tâi-lô: hīng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: heng
    • IPA (Xiamen): /hiɪŋ²²/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hiɪŋ⁴¹/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /hiɪŋ²²/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hiɪŋ³³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɪŋ³³/

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• Middle Chinese: haengH

Rime
Character	行
Reading #	4/4
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	庚 (109)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	下更切
Baxter	haengH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦˠæŋH/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦᵚaŋH/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣaŋH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦaɨjŋH/
Li Rong	/ɣɐŋH/
Wang Li	/ɣɐŋH/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣɐŋH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hèng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hang6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*[ɡ]ˤraŋ-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡraːŋs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	行
Reading #	3/3
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	xíng
Middle Chinese	‹ hængH ›
Old Chinese	/*[ɡ]ˁraŋ-s/
English	action
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	行
Reading #	4/4
No.	13876
Phonetic component	行
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	行
Old Chinese	/*ɡraːŋs/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 行

1. skill from monk training

   道行  ―  dàohéng  ―  monk training

Pronunciation 5

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hàng (hang⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄤˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hong⁶
• Eastern Min (BUC): hâung

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hàng
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄤˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hàng
    • Wade–Giles: hang⁴
    • Yale: hàng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hanq
    • Palladius: хан (xan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɑŋ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: hong⁶
    • Yale: hohng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hong⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: hong⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔːŋ²²/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: hâung
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɑuŋ²⁴²/

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• Middle Chinese: haeng

Rime
Character	行
Reading #	2/4
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	庚 (109)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	戸庚切
Baxter	haeng
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦˠæŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦᵚaŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣaŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦaɨjŋ/
Li Rong	/ɣɐŋ/
Wang Li	/ɣɐŋ/
Bernard Karlgren	/ɣɐŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	héng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hang4

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡaːŋs/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	行
Reading #	2/4
No.	13866
Phonetic component	行
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	吭
Old Chinese	/*ɡaːŋs/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 行

1. ^† Only used in 行行 (“bold; staunch; strong”).
2. Only used in 樹行子／树行子 (“row of trees”).

References

• (Min Nan) “Entry #2617”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

行

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: ぎょう (gyō, Jōyō)^{←ぎやう"go (gyau "go, historical)}、perform" (perform")、ごう (gō)^{←がう"row (gau "row, historical)}、line" (line")
• Kan-on: こう (kō, Jōyō)^{←かう (kau, historical)}
• Sō-on: あん (an, Jōyō ^†)、へん (hen)
• Tō-on: あん"go (an "go)、perform" (perform")、ひん (hin)
• Kan’yō-on: ぎょう (gyō, Jōyō)^{←ぎやう"row (gyau "row, historical)}、line" (line")
• Kun: いく (iku, 行く, Jōyō)、ゆく (yuku, 行く, Jōyō)、おこなう (okonau, 行う, Jōyō)^{←おこなふ (okonafu, 行ふ, historical)}、おこなう (okonau, 行なう)^{←おこなふ (okonafu, 行なふ, historical)}、くだり (kudari, 行)
• Nanori: つら (tsura)、ゆき (yuki)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
行
ぎょう Grade: 2
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 行 (MC haeng). Template:rfv-etymology

The kan'yōon pronunciation, possibly influenced by the goon pronunciation below.

Noun

行(ぎょう) • (gyō) ^{←ぎやう (gyau)?}

1. a line of text
2. (mathematics) a row of a matrix
3. (calligraphy) (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) Abbreviation of 行書 (“semi-cursive script”).

Suffix

行(ぎょう) • (-gyō) 

1. row (in a table of the kana)

   は行(ぎょう)う段(だん)

   ha-gyō u-dan

   row ha, section u

Coordinate terms

• 段(だん) (dan)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
行
ぎょう Grade: 2
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 行 (MC haeng). Template:rfv-etymology

The goon pronunciation, so likely an earlier borrowing.

• For the "formations" definition, translation of Sanskrit संस्कार (saṃskāra)
• For "austerities", translation of Sanskrit चर्या (caryā)
• For "walking", translation of Sanskrit गमन (gamana)

Noun

行(ぎょう) • (gyō) ^{←ぎやう (gyau)?}

1. (Buddhism) saṅkhāra: formations, mental activity; one of the 五蘊 (goun, “five skandhas”)
2. (Buddhism) caryā‎: austerities; practice or discipline for enlightenment (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
3. (Buddhism) gamana: manner of going forward or walking (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)
4. (by extension, rare) going, travelling

Usage notes

The "going, travelling" definition is superseded by こう below.

Synonyms

• (formations): 行(ぎょう)蘊(うん) (gyōun)

See also

• 五(ご)蘊(うん) (gōn, “five skandhas”): 色(しき) (shiki, “rūpa”), 受(じゅ) (ju, “vedanā”), 想(そう) (sō, “saññā”), 行(ぎょう) (gyō, “saṅkhāra”), 識(しき) (shiki, “viññāṇa”)

Proper noun

行(ぎょう) • (Gyō) 

1. a surname
2. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a unisex given name

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
行
こう Grade: 2
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 行 (MC hang|haeng|hangH|haengH). Template:rfv-etymology

The kan'on pronunciation, so likely the later borrowing.

Noun

行(こう) • (kō) ^{←かう (kau)?}

1. going; travelling (UK), traveling (US)
2. type of classical Chinese verse (usually an epic)
3. (archaic) merchant's association; guild
4. bank (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Proper noun

行(こう) • (Kō) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a unisex given name

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
行
くだり Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Cognate with 下り (kudari, “downward-going”).

Noun

行(くだり) • (kudari) 

1. vertical row
2. vertical line

Suffix

行(くだり) • (-kudari) 

1. used to count lines of sentences (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Etymology 5

Various nanori readings.

Proper noun

行(あきら) • (Akira) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a unisex given name

行(あるき) • (Aruki) 

1. A place name

行(あん) • (An) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a female given name

行(いく) • (Iku) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a female given name

行(いたる) • (Itaru) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a female given name

行(すすむ) • (Susumu) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a unisex given name

行(つとむ) • (Tsutomu) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a male given name

行(つよし) • (Tsuyoshi) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a male given name

行(とおる) • (Tōru) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a unisex given name

行(まこと) • (Makoto) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a unisex given name

行(ゆき) • (Yuki) 

1. A place name
2. a surname
3. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a female given name

行(ゆくえ) • (Yukue) 

1. (deprecated use of |lang= parameter) a female given name

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Korean

Hanja

行 • (haeng)

• Eumhun:
  • Sound (hangeul): 행 (revised: haeng, McCune–Reischauer: haeng, Yale: hayng)
  • Name (hangeul): 다닐 행
    

1. movement

行 • (hang)

• Eumhun:
  • Sound (hangeul): 항 (revised: hang, McCune–Reischauer: hang, Yale: hang)
  • Name (hangeul): 항렬 항
    

1. degree of familial relation

Compounds

• (movement): 행동
• (degree of relation): 항렬

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 行 (hàng, hạnh, hành, ngành, hãng, hăng)

1. company, firm
2. (archaic) to go, to travel (on a long journey).

Compounds

• 行客 (hành khách)
• 行李 (hành lý)
• 銀行 (ngân hàng)