行列

• Pinyin: háng liè
• Hanzi breakdown: 行 = crossroads — movement in lines; 列 = 歹 (bones/sequence) + 刀 (knife) — to split into rows

Meaning

Ranks; rows; file — an ordered arrangement of people or things in lines; also used figuratively for an organised group or category.

In its physical sense: lines of soldiers, protesters, or marchers. Figuratively, 加入某某行列 (to join the ranks of...) is a very common construction meaning to become part of a group or category. Formal and somewhat literary in register. Distinguished from 队列 (formation/queue) by its broader figurative use.

Examples

1. 越来越多的年轻人主动加入志愿服务行列，用实际行动诠释当代青年的社会责任感。 More and more young people are choosing to join the ranks of volunteers, demonstrating today’s youth’s sense of social responsibility through real action.
2. 阅兵式上，各兵种方队以整齐划一的行列缓缓通过广场，接受全国人民的检阅。 At the military parade, formations from different branches marched slowly across the square in neat, uniform ranks, accepting the review of the whole nation.
3. 随着人工智能技术的快速发展，越来越多的传统职业正在加入被自动化逐步取代的行列之中。 With AI advancing rapidly, more and more traditional jobs are joining the ranks of those gradually being replaced by automation.

Usage Guide

Context: military, politics, social movements, formal writing

Tone: formal

Do Say

• 经过多年艰苦创业，她终于跻身国内最具影响力的女性企业家行列，成为同辈人仰望的榜样。(After many years of arduous entrepreneurship, she finally entered the ranks of the most influential female entrepreneurs in the country, becoming a role model looked up to by her peers.)
• 随着这项重大科技突破的实现，中国正式加入掌握该核心技术的国家行列，填补了国内的技术空白。(With the achievement of this major technological breakthrough, China has officially joined the ranks of countries that have mastered this core technology, filling a domestic technological gap.)

Don't Say

• 行列 for a simple written list or enumeration — 行列 implies physical or figurative organised ranks; for a written list use 名单 or 清单; for a sequence use 顺序 or 序列

Origin & History

行 (row, line) + 列 (file, column, row) — rows and columns forming ordered ranks

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal