The word 嘶鸣 is formed by combining the characters 嘶 and 鸣. 嘶 is a phono-semantic character composed of the semantic radical 口 (mouth) and the phonetic component 斯, indicating a sound produced by the mouth. 鸣 is similarly constructed with the semantic radical 口 and the phonetic component 鸟, originally associated with bird sounds. When combined, these characters create a compound word that specifically refers to the act of neighing, as in the vocalization of a horse.