The Chinese word 入伍 (rùwǔ), meaning "to enlist in the military," is formed through a classic verb-object compound structure. The first character, 入 (rù), means "to enter," while the second, 伍 (wǔ), originally referred to a "squad" or "group of five soldiers," and by extension came to mean "military ranks" or "the army." Thus, the term literally and metaphorically describes the action of "entering the ranks" of the armed forces.