The word 导航 is formed by combining two meaningful characters: 导 (dǎo), which means "to lead" or "to guide", and 航 (háng), which means "to navigate" or "to sail". The character 导 provides the core concept of providing direction, while 航 specifies the domain of that guidance as movement or travel through a medium like water or air. Together, they create a new, unified concept that literally means "to guide the course" or "to pilot", which in modern usage extends to any system (like electronic or digital) that provides route guidance.