行動
こうどう · koudou · JLPT N3 · noun
action
🏃 行動 = go + move: going and moving is taking action
行 (kou) means go or carry out, as in 行く. 動 (dou) means move, as in 動く. Carrying out a movement is an action, and a person's actions over time are their conduct or behavior.
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.