Dong Chinese dictionary

jiē

street

Phonosemantic compound. 行 represents the meaning and 圭 represents the sound.

Components

行 Meaning component

xíng, háng

walk

圭 Sound component

guī

jade pointed at top

街 and 圭 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.街 /*[k]ˤre/
圭 /*[k]ʷˤe/

Evolution

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

jiē

street, road, thoroughfare; street; CL:條|条[tiáo]

Most common words with 街

Sources