row; line; trade; profession
HSK level
行 is written with 6 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
行 (háng) is a noun meaning a row, line, or — most importantly at HSK 4 — a line of business, trade, or profession: 各行各业 'all trades and professions,' 隔行如隔山 'different trades are worlds apart.'
It also names a row of things (一行字 'a line of text,' 第三行 'the third row') and appears in business terms like 银行 (yínháng, bank) and 行业 (hángyè, industry). The crucial point for learners is that 行 is a two-reading character: read háng it means row/trade, but read xíng it means to walk, to travel, to be OK, or capable — a completely different everyday word. Pronunciation decides the meaning, so 银行 is yínháng (bank) while 行不行 is xíng bu xíng ('is that OK?'
). Register is neutral. Compare 行业 (industry/sector, the fuller two-syllable term) and 列 (a column or file, contrasting with 行 as a row).
Note: This entry covers the reading háng. The same character read xíng means 'to walk / OK / to travel' and is a separate high-frequency word — context and pronunciation distinguish them.
他在银行工作。
Tā zài yínháng gōngzuò.
He works at a bank.
neutral
干一行，爱一行。
Gàn yì háng, ài yì háng.
Whatever trade you're in, love it.
spoken
请把第二行读一遍。
Qǐng bǎ dì-èr háng dú yí biàn.
Please read the second line aloud.
neutral
这个行业竞争非常激烈。
Zhège hángyè jìngzhēng fēicháng jīliè.
Competition in this industry is very fierce.
written
行业 is the full two-syllable word for an industry or sector and stands alone more comfortably in modern usage. Bare 行 (háng) for 'trade' now mostly survives in fixed phrases like 内行, 同行, 改行.
The same character read xíng means to walk, to travel, to be OK, or capable (行不行 'is that OK?', 旅行 'to travel'). Only the reading tells you which sense — háng is row/trade, xíng is walk/OK.
列 means a column or vertical file, whereas 行 (háng) is a horizontal row. In tables and grids, keep 行 (rows) and 列 (columns) straight.
Acquire it by listening
Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 行 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.
