飛行場

ひこうじょう · hikoujou · JLPT N4 · noun

airport

飛行場 — airport

✈️ 飛行場 = fly (飛) + go (行) + place (場): the flying-going place

飛行 (hikou) means flight, built from fly + go. 場 (jou) is a place or grounds, as in 駐車場 (parking lot) and 工場 (factory). So 飛行場 is literally flight-grounds: an airfield or airport.

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.

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