How to Write 航 (háng) — Meaning “to sail / to fly / navigation”

Imagine a boat (舟) with a tall mast (like the upper part of 亢) that can sail across the ocean or even fly into the sky. This picture helps you remember that 航 means both sailing and flying.

Write the radical 舟 first (stroke order: left vertical, then horizontal, then inner vertical, etc.) and then 亢 on the right. A common mistake is making the 舟 radical too wide, but it should be narrow to leave space for 亢.

航 uses 亢 on the right and means navigation (by air or sea), while 舡 uses 工 (work) and is an old word for boat, and 舢 uses 山 (mountain) and refers to a small sampan boat. The right side is the visual clue to tell them apart.

航 appears in everyday words like 航空 (aviation) and 航班 (flight). It is also important in China's space program, such as 航空航天 (aerospace), showing how the character connects travel by both air and space.

Common words containing 航 include: 航空 (háng kōng) — aviation; 航班 (háng bān) — scheduled flight / flight; 航行 (háng xíng) — to sail / to navigate / to fly.