The word 变化 is formed by combining two pictographic and ideographic characters that conceptually layer to deepen the idea of change. The first character, 变 (biàn), depicts a complex process of alteration, originally derived from a pictogram representing the orderly handling of tangled silk, thus conveying transformation or mutation. It is paired with 化 (huà), a character showing a person standing next to an inverted person, symbolizing a fundamental conversion or metamorphosis from one state to another. Together, they create a compound where 变 provides the core notion of "change", and 化 adds the dimension of "process" or "transformation", resulting in a holistic concept of dynamic, process-oriented change.