The ancient form of the character 行 resembles the shape of an intersection leading out in all directions. It originally meant road, and, in this sense of the word, it is pronounced háng. This meaning of the character often appears in ancient Chinese texts. The meanings of most of the Chinese characters which are constructed from 行 have some relation to road, such as the character 街 (street). Road, of course, provide people a place to travel or walk. Thus, walking or traveling on foot is also called 行. In this sense of the character, it is then pronounced xíng. It is this meaning of the word which is now the most common one, Some examples of this include 行走 (walk, go on foot ) and 自行车 (bicycle).