The Chinese word 俚语 (lǐyǔ), meaning "slang" or "colloquialism," is a compound word formed by combining two meaningful characters: 俚, which originally denotes "vulgar" or "of the folk/common people," and 语, which means "language" or "speech." Together, they create a semantic compound where the first character 俚 modifies the second 语, specifying that this is a type of language that is informal, rooted in everyday vernacular, and often specific to a particular region or social group, thus distinct from formal or standard speech.