The Chinese word **外貌 (wàimào)**, meaning "appearance" or "outward look," is a compound noun formed by combining two meaningful characters: **外 (wài)**, which means "outer" or "external," and **貌 (mào)**, which means "appearance," "looks," or "countenance." This is a standard method of word formation in Chinese known as **modifier-head construction**, where the first character **外** acts as a modifier specifying the type of "appearance," and the second character **貌** serves as the core semantic head. Together, they create a precise term that specifically denotes the external, physical visage of a person or object, distinguishing it from internal qualities.