进程
jìn chéng · HSK 7
course
⚙️ 进 = advance + 程 = journey/procedure; an advancing procedure = a process
进 means to advance or move forward; 程 means a journey, stage, or procedure. Together they name the forward course something takes from start to finish: a process. The same 程 appears in 过程 (course) and 工程 (engineering).
进 — walk radical 辶 + well 井
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: the walking radical 辶 gives the meaning of movement, while 井 (jǐng, 'well') supplied the sound. The traditional form 進 used 隹 (short-tailed bird) suggesting forward flight; the simplified 进 swapped 隹 for the simpler phonetic 井. The core meaning 'to advance, enter' has stayed stable.