街

suffix for administrative districts (e.g., 종로1가 “Jongno 1-ga”)

Phono-semantic compound:

行 (to go, walk) — semantic element, showing a crossroads or street.

圭 (jade tablet, scepter) — phonetic element, providing the sound.

行 originally depicted the shape of a crossroad with intersecting paths, reinforcing the idea of a street. 圭 as a phonetic has yielded diverse Sino-Korean readings (규, 예, 애, 아), explaining why the modern reading is “가.”

街道 (가도) — street, avenue

商街 (상가) — shopping street, commercial district

街路樹 (가로수) — roadside tree

명륜동2가, 종로1가 — administrative divisions in Korea, where -가 marks a legal sub-district.

In Japanese and Chinese, still widely used for “street.”

In modern Korea, -가 appears in legal/administrative place names, some derived from the Japanese 丁目 (ちょうめ, “block”) during colonial rule, later localized as 가.

In Korean road naming, 길 is often translated into 街 when rendered in Chinese/Japanese contexts.