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成行 (chéng xíng) — (v.o.) to go ahead as planned, to materialize (of a trip, visit, event, etc.)

Definition

A formal verb-object phrase meaning a planned trip, visit, or event actually goes ahead. Common in fixed negative patterns like 成不了行 / 未能成行 when a plan falls through.

verb
(v.o.) to go ahead as plannedto materialize (of a trip, visit, event, etc.)

Examples

  • ，。
    Yīn wèi qiān zhèng wèn tí, wǒ zhè cì měi guó zhī xíng chéng bù liǎo xíng le.
    Because of visa issues, my trip to the US could not proceed.
  • 成行。
    Zhè cì lǚ xíng zhōng yú chéng xíng le.
    This trip finally went ahead.
  • ，成行。
    Yóu yú tiān qì yuán yīn, huó dòng wèi néng chéng xíng.
    Due to weather, the event could not take place.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

成chéngaccomplish
行xíngtravel/go

成 means to accomplish, 行 means travel or going, so a plan becomes something that can go ahead.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戊戊wù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng成chéng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

Open 成 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →
Appears in
Travel & Tourism

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