进

进 (jìn) means 'to enter' or 'to go in / come in' — the basic verb of motion into a space. It works for entering rooms, buildings, schools, companies, or markets. The key thing for English speakers: Chinese is directional. 进来 (jìn lái) means 'come in' (toward the speaker), 进去 (jìn qù) means 'go in' (away from the speaker). When you knock and a Chinese speaker says 请进 ('please enter'), they're inviting you in; if you're outside calling them, they say 我进去了 ('I'm going in'). 进 is also a common verb suffix indicating movement inward — 走进 (walk in), 跑进 (run in), 搬进 (move in). It appears in many compound words: 进入 (enter formally), 进步 (progress, lit. 'step in'), 进行 (carry out), 进口 (import).

Memory hook: The walk radical 辶 + 井 (well) — to step toward and into something. The simplified character lost the original phonetic but kept the motion idea.