行踪 (xíng zōng) — whereabouts; trail or trace of a person's movem…

Definition

Literary/formal word for a person's 'whereabouts' or movements. Used mostly in writing, news, and police/legal contexts — not everyday speech.

noun

whereaboutstrail or trace of a person's movements

行踪，。
Tā de xíng zōng hěn shén mì, méi rén zhī dào tā zài nǎ lǐ.
His whereabouts are very mysterious; no one knows where he is.
行踪。
Jǐng fāng zhuī zōng le xián yí rén yì zhōu de xíng zōng.
The police tracked the suspect's movements for a week.
，行踪。
Tā cháng qī zài wài lǚ xíng, xíng zōng bú dìng.
He travels abroad long-term, so his whereabouts are always uncertain.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

行xíngmovement/conduct

踪zōngtrack/trace

行 gives movement or conduct, and 踪 gives track or trace, together naming where someone has been.

Characters in this word

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

彳亍行

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.

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

足足zúfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

宗

Same sound today

踪 pairs 足, a foot, with 宗, which gives the sound zōng.

Appears in