Kilo Lingo

(xíng dòng) - action, movement; to take action in Mandarin

xíngdòng

Traditional: 行動

Line drawing of 行动
Coloured illustration of 行动
HSK 4
#536 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

action, movement; to take action

Word origin

A two-character compound meaning action. 行 (xíng) 'to walk, to act' joins 动 (dòng) 'to move'. 动 is the simplified form of 動, having the 力 'strength' radical with 重 (zhòng) as phonetic.

Origin
compound
Root
行 (xíng, 'to act') + 动 (dòng, 'to move'; 力 strength radical + 重 phonetic)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 行

Stroke order for 动

Examples

Now is the time to take action.

His movements are very fast.

We need to take action immediately.

We need to take action.

His actions are very swift.

行动 (xíng dòng) means action, movement, or to take action. 行 relates to movement or conduct and 动 means to move. Together they form a noun describing purposeful action or the act of moving and doing. The phrase 采取行动 (cǎi qǔ xíng dòng, to take action) is a standard formal expression. 行动 can also refer to physical mobility (行动不便, to have limited mobility).

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This word is part of lesson 11.