排行榜
páihángbǎng · HSK 6
seniority among siblings
👶📋 arrange + rank + board: the family chart of birth order
排 arranges, 行 ranks, 榜 is a posted list. Together they name the chart tracking who is eldest, second, third among siblings.
排 — hand radical 扌 + 非 (fēi, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 gives the meaning (an action done with the hands), while 非 supplies the sound. The original sense was to push or shove aside with the hand, which extended to arranging things in a row, hence modern meanings like 'to arrange,' 'a row,' or 'to reject.'
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.