航行

• Pinyin: háng xíng
• Hanzi breakdown: 航 = 舟 (boat) + 亢 (upright/high, phonetic); 行 = crossroads pictograph — movement and travel

Meaning

To navigate; to sail or fly — to travel by ship, aircraft, or spacecraft along a determined course over a sustained distance.

Broader than 航海 (sea navigation only) — 航行 applies to ships, submarines, aircraft, and spacecraft. Also used figuratively: 人生的航行 (the voyage of life). More literary than colloquial and suggests purposeful, sustained travel. A key technical term in maritime, aviation, and aerospace contexts.

Examples

1. 这艘科考船将沿着预定航线在南极周边海域持续航行六个月，对极地生态系统进行系统性调查研究。 This research vessel will follow its planned route and continue sailing in waters around Antarctica for six months, conducting a systematic study of polar ecosystems.
2. 由于海面突起大雾，港口管理部门已向过往船只发出航行安全警示，建议降速谨慎行驶。 With dense fog rolling in over the sea, the port authority has issued a navigation safety alert to passing ships, advising them to slow down and proceed with caution.
3. 潜水艇在完成情报收集任务后，全程保持无线电静默状态悄然航行返回母港，未被对方察觉。 After completing its intelligence-gathering mission, the submarine maintained radio silence throughout its return voyage to its home port and went undetected.

Usage Guide

Context: maritime, aviation, space, military, formal writing

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 无人驾驶货轮依靠卫星导航和人工智能系统，能够在复杂海况下自主规划最优航行路线并实时调整。(The unmanned cargo vessel relies on satellite navigation and an artificial intelligence system to independently plan the optimal navigation route and make real-time adjustments in complex sea conditions.)
• 机长随即广播通知乘客系好安全带，并将飞行高度调整至更平稳的层位继续航行以安全穿越湍流区域。(The captain immediately broadcast a notification for passengers to fasten their seatbelts, adjusting the flight altitude to a more stable level to continue the voyage and safely traverse the turbulence zone.)

Don't Say

• 航行 for a casual short boat trip or ferry ride — 航行 implies a purposeful, often longer voyage; for a casual short ride use 乘船 or 坐船

Origin & History

航 (to navigate by vessel) + 行 (to travel, to go) — to navigate and travel along a course

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal