The word 否则 is formed by combining two classical Chinese characters that together create a conditional logical meaning: 否 (fǒu), which means "not" or "to negate", and 则 (zé), which means "then" or "in that case". It is a conceptual fusion where the second element 则 directly follows and responds to the condition of negation posed by the first, 否, to inherently mean "if not [the aforementioned case], then"... Thus, the word is constructed as a self-contained logical sequence, presenting an alternative consequence directly within its two-character structure.