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放行 (fàng xíng) — to let pass, to allow to go through

Definition

放行 is used by an official or authority (customs, police, security) to permit someone or something to pass through a checkpoint. Pairs with 通行证 ('pass/permit'), as in 没有通行证，不能放行.

verb
to let passto allow to go through

Examples

  • 。
    Hǎi guān yǐ jīng fàng le xíng.
    The customs have already let it through.
  • ，放行。
    Jǐng chá jiǎn chá hòu, fàng xíng le zhè liàng chē.
    After the police checked, they let this car pass.
  • ，放行。
    Méi yǒu tōng xíng zhèng, bù néng fàng xíng.
    Without a pass, you cannot be allowed through.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

放fànglet go
行xíngpass

In 放行, 放 makes 行 possible, so someone can pass.

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
攵Written in full as攴pūhand, action
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng放fàng
Same sound today

放 uses 方 for its sound and 攵, a hand/action part, to mark an action of release.

Open 放 →

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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