実行
じっこう · jikkou · JLPT N3 · noun
practice
💻 実行 = real (実) + go/carry out (行): making it real by doing
実 means real or actual, as in 実際 (reality). 行 means to go or to carry out, as in 行動 (action). Together: actually carrying something out, which is why a computer running a program is 実行. Sound hook: jikkou, like a gecko that just does it.
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.