并行
bìng xíng · HSK 7
to proceed in parallel
🚂🚂 并 (combine/and) + 行 (go/move) = go together side by side
Two trains running on parallel tracks. 并 means merged or together, 行 means to go or travel. Combined: moving forward simultaneously, like parallel processes or lanes advancing at once.
并 — two 立 (standing person) side by side
Originally a pictograph of two people standing side by side, depicting togetherness or combination. The modern form 并 merges several historical characters (並, 併, 竝) that all conveyed 'side by side' or 'combine'. Today it means 'and, moreover' or 'to merge', and also negates expectations as in 并不.
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.