The word 准时 is formed by combining two independent characters, each contributing its core meaning to create a new, unified concept. The first character, 准, carries the idea of "standard", "accurate", or "allowing". The second, 时, means "time" or "moment". Their fusion is not merely additive but conceptual, merging to express the idea of "meeting the standard of time", or more directly, "on time" or "punctual". It represents a logical synthesis where precision (准) is applied to the dimension of time (时).