行人
xíngrén · HSK 2
pedestrian
🚶 行 (walk) + 人 (person) = walking person = pedestrian
行 means to walk or go, and 人 means person. Together they form the literal compound walk-person, which names anyone on foot — a passerby or pedestrian, i.e. foot traffic.
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.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.