履行

lǚ xíng · HSK 7

to carry out

👣 履 tread/shoe + 行 walk = walk the walk, actually carry out the deal

履 (lǚ) means to tread or shoe; 行 (xíng) means to walk or act. Together they mean you literally walk the walk rather than just talk: fulfilling obligations and carrying out agreements through action.

行 — crossroads pictograph (left 彳 + right 亍)
行 originally pictured a four-way crossroads in oracle bone script, with two paths meeting. From 'road' it extended to 'walk, go, travel,' and then to 'a row, line' or 'business firm' (read háng). The two halves 彳 and 亍 are the split sides of that ancient crossroads.

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