航

Phono-semantic compound:

舟 (주, “boat”) — semantic, indicating relation to ships and sailing.

亢 (항, “high, lofty”) — phonetic, providing the sound 항.

The character thus conveys the idea of movement by boat, “navigation.”

항해(航海) — voyage, navigation by sea

항공(航空) — aviation, flight

항로(航路) — route, sea-lane, air route

항공기(航空機) — aircraft

우주항해(宇宙航海) — space navigation, space travel

In ancient China, 航 was closely associated with river and sea navigation, especially during the expansion of maritime trade in the Han and Tang dynasties.

Later, with the advent of aviation, it was adopted in words like 航空 (aviation), showing how the meaning of “navigation” expanded from sea to air, space.