行為
こうい · koui · JLPT N1 · noun
act
行 (carry out, go) + 為 (do, act) = carrying out + doing = a deed or conduct
Both characters mean 'do' in different senses: 行 stresses carrying out, and 為 stresses the action itself. Together they name a deed or a person's overall conduct.
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.