The word 旅行 is formed by combining two individual characters, each contributing to the overall concept. The first character, 旅, originally depicted people gathered under a banner, evoking the idea of a group on a journey or an expedition. The second character, 行, is a pictograph of a crossroads, representing the fundamental act of moving or going. When placed together, they conceptually merge to create the idea of "travel", where 旅 provides the context of being away on a trip and 行 supplies the essential action of movement, pictorially building the complete notion of journeying from one place to another.