The Chinese word 地形 (dìxíng), meaning "terrain" or "topography," is a compound formed through semantic combination. It consists of two meaningful characters: 地 (dì), which means "earth" or "land," and 形 (xíng), which means "shape" or "form." When combined, the two morphemes create a new, more specific concept through a modifier-head relationship, where 地 ("land") modifies 形 ("shape") to literally mean "the shape of the land," succinctly expressing the physical features and contours of a geographic area.