行う
おこなう · okonau · JLPT N4 · verb-godan
to carry out
📋 行 = go + う: to make a plan go, i.e. carry it out (formal 'do')
行 is the kanji for go, also read い(く). With the reading おこな(う) it means making something go ahead: holding a meeting, running a test, conducting a survey. Sound hook: okonau ~ 'OK, now!' — the formal signal to proceed.
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.