The Chinese word 夏季 (xiàjì), meaning "summer", is a compound noun formed through the common morphological process of modifier-noun combination. The first character, 夏 (xià), acts as the modifier meaning "summer" or "great", specifying the type, while the second character, 季 (jì), functions as the head noun meaning "season". Together, they create a precise, two-syllable word where "夏" describes the specific "季", following the standard Chinese word formation pattern analogous to "spring season" (春季) or "winter season" (冬季), resulting in a clear and semantically transparent term for the hottest season of the year.