Chinese word

航行

Pronunciation

Pinyinháng xíng

Meaning

  • verbsail

Example

这艘渔船正在航行回港。zhè sōu yú chuán zhèng zài háng xíng huí gǎng

This fishing boat is sailing back to port.

Illustration for 航行 (sail)

More examples

台风警报发布后，海域被宣布禁航，船只不得航行。tái fēng jǐng bào fā bù hòu hǎi yù bèi xuān bù jìn háng chuán zhī bù dé háng xíng

After the typhoon warning was issued, the sea area was declared off-limits to sailing, and ships must not sail.

Core concept

A vessel or aircraft follows a planned route through water or air.

Common phrases

  • 禁止航行jìn zhǐ háng xíng

    ban sailing

  • 允许航行yún xǔ háng xíng

    allow sailing

  • 在河道内航行zài hé dào nèi háng xíng

    sail within a river channel

Similar words

飞行fēi xíng: To move through the air, usually in an aircraft.
行驶xíng shǐ: To move along a road or waterway in a vehicle or boat.
航海háng hǎi: To travel across the sea by ship toward a destination.

Definition in Chinese

指船舶或飞机在水面或空中按照航线或航道移动的动作或过程。zhǐ chuán bó huò fēi jī zài shuǐ miàn huò kōng zhōng àn zhào háng xiàn huò háng dào yí dòng de dòng zuò huò guò chéng

Word origin

航行 (hángxíng, "to sail or navigate") combines 航 (háng, "travel by vessel") with 行 (xíng, "move"), creating the image of movement along a route.

Usage tips

  • English often uses different verbs for boats and aircraft, whereas Chinese uses one formal verb for both in transport descriptions.

Opposites

  • 禁航jìn hángforbid sailingverb

Related words

  • 航行证háng xíng zhèngnavigation permitnoun

Word lists with this word