xíng · háng · héng
go; do; be feasible • row; trade
Meanings & readings
Meanings & dictionary uses
3 senses · 8 wordsTo go, travel, act, or be workable. On its own 行 can express that something is acceptable or will work.
A row, line of work, or commercial establishment. Learn háng as part of these words instead of applying the more familiar xíng automatically.
A specialized word-bound reading in 道行, concerning attainment or skill. Its inclusion here signals that the two main readings are not exhaustive.
Languages & readings
Choose a recorded reading. Explore other varieties through their reference sources below.
Mandarin
Sense-linked readingsReadings & meanings
- xíng — To go, travel, act, or be workable. On its own 行 can express that something is acceptable or will work.
- háng — A row, line of work, or commercial establishment. Learn háng as part of these words instead of applying the more familiar xíng automatically.
- héng — A specialized word-bound reading in 道行, concerning attainment or skill. Its inclusion here signals that the two main readings are not exhaustive.
Usage scope
Regional and word-specific qualifications remain attached to the sense and vocabulary records.
Cantonese
Selected character readingSource & reading limitations
Jyutping · Unihan 17.0.0
This property supplies a customary character reading for collation and transliteration. It does not list every reading or identify the reading for each word and sense. It also does not encode a separate regional label for each value.
Other Chinese languages & varieties
Reference guides · character readings not yet imported.
Taiwanese Hokkien 臺灣台語Reference sources only
The Ministry of Education dictionary is the reference for Taiwanese vocabulary and readings. Its Tâi-lô guide distinguishes citation tones from changes in connected speech. Other Hokkien varieties require their own sources.
- Reference variety
- Taiwanese Hokkien, with the regional distinctions recorded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education
- Notation
- Tâi-lô (臺羅), as used by the linked MOE dictionary
Hakka 客語Reference sources only
Taiwan's Ministry of Education documents six Hakka varieties separately. Choose the variety before comparing readings; a single undifferentiated Hakka pronunciation would hide meaningful differences.
- Reference variety
- Taiwan: Sixian, Hailu, Dapu, Raoping, Zhao'an and Southern Sixian
- Notation
- Taiwan Hakka Romanization System (臺灣客語拼音方案)
Teochew 潮州話／潮汕話Reference sources only
Explore CUHK's published Chaozhou lexicon and its separate Shantou sound table. These reference locations remain explicit: readings from one locality should not stand in for every Teochew variety.
- Reference variety
- Chaozhou lexicon; separate Shantou syllable-table resource
- Notation
- Source phonetic transcription; no shared local romanization imported
Wu 吳語・上海話Reference sources only
The linked university resource documents Shanghai. Wu also includes other local varieties; Shanghai readings should retain that location label when compared with Mandarin or Cantonese.
- Reference variety
- Shanghai
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Eastern Min 閩東語・福州話Reference sources only
Fuzhou is an Eastern Min reference variety. Its dedicated CUHK sound table offers a starting point; other Eastern Min localities need distinct records and source attribution.
- Reference variety
- Fuzhou
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Gan 贛語・南昌話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Nanchang sound table. The broader Gan group contains local differences, so future readings should identify Nanchang or another documented locality explicitly.
- Reference variety
- Nanchang
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Xiang 湘語・長沙話Reference sources only
Begin with CUHK's Changsha sound table. Keep Changsha separate from other Xiang localities when adding readings; the group name does not denote one uniform pronunciation.
- Reference variety
- Changsha
- Notation
- Phonetic transcription and tone values in the linked CUHK table
Readings in Japanese, Korean & Vietnamese
Readings recorded for 行 in other language traditions. These are character-level records, not word translations or interchangeable pronunciations.
Japanese 日本語
Grouped by the source’s kana notation; no frequency ranking is implied.
On’yomi · katakana
Kun’yomi · hiragana
Katakana generally indicates on’yomi; hiragana generally indicates kun’yomi. The source does not identify everyday, rare, historical or name use per reading. Kana strings are preserved, including any written endings; consult a Japanese word entry for actual use.
Go deeperJisho ↗Wiktionary ↗
Source record & scope
Unicode Unihan 17.0.0 · kJapanese ↗ · provisional property
コウ ギョウ アン ゴウ カン ガン いく ゆく おこなう まさに みち めぐる やる ゆくゆくKorean 한국어
Hanja readings · Hangul
Source codes are separated below. They are neither sounds nor tones; a character reading alone does not specify a whole word’s pronunciation.
Go deeperNaver Hanja ↗Wiktionary ↗
Reading sources explained
- 항
- KS X 1001 (0) · Personal-name Hanja (N)
- 행
- KS X 1001 (0) · Educational Hanja (E)
Vietnamese Tiếng Việt
Character readings · Quốc ngữ
Vietnamese readings associated with this Han character. This field alone does not establish word meanings, current usage, or a complete account of Hán-Nôm reading traditions.
Go deeperHán Việt (Thi Viện) ↗Wiktionary ↗
Form & structure
Structure & components
2 direct parts- Layout
- left right
- Index radical
- 行 · 144 · 0 residual strokes
The modern shape can be inspected as 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right. This visible division is distinct from the whole early graph’s interpretation as a road junction. A modern component diagram should therefore not retell the historical origin as two independently meaningful present-day words placed together.
Follow the recorded parts
- recorded boundary
- recorded boundary
A boundary means no finer analysis is published here; it does not assert an indivisible unit. Radical classification and component structure are separate.
Inspect the component network ↗Writing
6 strokesModern stroke order; regional conventions can differ. [47]
Words & connections
Examples
2 sentences這個辦法可行。
这个办法可行。
This approach is workable.
銀行在車站旁邊。
银行在车站旁边。
The bank is beside the station.
Original editorial sentences. Pinyin uses dictionary tones; connected speech may differ.
Connections
0 phonetic neighboursThis pilot does not link this character to a sound (phonetic) family. Explore the other recorded relationships below.
Follow this component
Reverse links to attributed component analyses. Open each character for its role, source and words. Shared components do not establish word ancestry.
History & distinctions
Etymology & evidence
2 accountsIntersecting roads
CUHK interprets oracle-bone and bronze 行 as roads meeting in several directions, and attributes this line of interpretation to scholarship beginning with Luo Zhenyu. Its account differs in emphasis from the Shuowen’s analysis in terms of walking and the components 彳 and 亍.
Several branches of use
Drawing on the discussion it attributes to Qiu Xigui, CUHK connects road with walking and rows, and follows further extensions into action, occupation, and commercial establishments. This is a scholarly semantic account. It does not replace the need to check modern word-specific readings.
Reading this character · explanatory note
行 is a character whose reading must be learned with the word. It is xíng in 旅行, travel, and 可行, feasible; it is háng in 銀行 / 银行, bank, and 行業 / 行业, a trade or industry. A dictionary also records the specialized reading héng in 道行. These readings cannot be collapsed into one pronunciation button. CUHK interprets the early graph as intersecting roads and discusses meanings connected with movement and rows. That historical account helps organize the portrait, but present-day pronunciation still follows the particular word and sense.
Historical specimens remain at their sources. No dated attestation sequence or licensed specimen image is claimed.
Inspect CUHK’s forms and discussion ↗Forms & distinctions
行 is shared by simplified and traditional Chinese. Traditional 銀行 and simplified 银行 are both yínháng, while 旅行 is lǚxíng in both. CC-CEDICT also marks Taiwan xìng for the conduct sense under xíng; that regional note is not treated as a new pronunciation for every word containing 行.
同行 can have different readings and meanings depending on the word intended. Identify the intended word and sense before choosing a pronunciation; the written character alone cannot resolve the choice.
The left side is a component that can occur in other characters. Its presence alone does not make those characters alternate forms of 行.
Historical readings
- Middle Chinese
- hang · 胡郎 反切 · #852
- Middle Chinese
- haeng · 戸庚 反切 · #887
- Middle Chinese
- hangH · 下浪 反切 · #2925
- Middle Chinese
- haengH · 下更 反切 · #2955
Guangyun-based transcriptions · PHONO-ML · CC BY 4.0. These describe historical reading categories, not modern word pronunciation.
Source row & reading categories
CSV line 6909 · hang = 宕開一平唐匣 · haeng = 梗開二平庚匣 · hangH = 宕開一去唐匣 · haengH = 梗開二去庚匣
Automatically generated in the source dataset; the authors checked a subset and acknowledge possible errors. All source readings are retained separately. Notation & method ↗
Sources & reference
Sources & research
4 sourcesLocator & rights
形義通解, 略說 and 詳解; character entry · link_only · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
Release 2026-10-12T08:13:53Z. Exact word-reading locators are retained with each WordRecord. · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
17.0.0 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Locator & rights
bddc96d41bef78427ed0e034e9f7e31d71fd1b92 · permitted · 2026-10-12
Open research · 2 items
- Less common literary and regional readings need a fuller dedicated lexical review. The header lists the two main readings plus the CC-CEDICT word-bound héng.
- Historical specimen images and their item-level dating have not been licensed or independently checked; follow the source link to inspect its evidence.
Cited claims compared with the consulted entries; no independent expert review recorded.
Readings across dictionaries
- Hanyu Da Zidian
- háng,xìng,xíng,hàng,héng 20811.060
- Xiandai Hanyu · 1983
- háng 0442.080 · hàng 0443.050 · héng 0460.010 · xíng 1290.030
- Tongyong Guifan · 2013
- háng 131.140 · héng 136.100 · xíng 408.120
- Reading counts · XDHYPLCD
- xíng(2943) háng(218)
- Mandarin / Cantonese · SMSZD
- xíng粵hang4 xíng,xìng粵hang6 háng粵hong4 háng粵hang4
Reference desk
- Fanqie spellings
- 胡郎 戶庚 下浪 下更
- Kangxi positions
- 1108.310
- Guangyun positions
- 182.40 187.23 427.22 429.36
- GSR references
- 0748a
- Cangjie
- HOMMN
- Four-corner
- 2122.1