The word 催眠术 is formed by combining three characters: 催, meaning "to urge" or "prompt"; 眠, meaning "sleep"; and 术, meaning "art" or "technique". Together, 催眠 translates to "induce sleep", referring to hypnosis, and with 术 added, it specifies the method or practice, resulting in the meaning "hypnotism" or "the technique of inducing sleep".