街
まち · machi · JLPT N3 · noun
town
🏘️ 街 = 行 (go) split open around 圭 (piled earth): roads through town
The outer part, 行, began as a drawing of a crossroads and means go. In the middle sits 圭, piles of earth, which also gives the Chinese reading gai. For machi, think march-ee: you march down the town street.
街 — 行 (go) + 圭 (jade tablets, phonetic)
街 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The outer 行 originally depicted a crossroads and gives the meaning 'road' or 'thoroughfare'. The inner 圭 supplies the sound. Together they denote a street or public way through a town.