The word "奖牌" is formed by combining the character "奖", meaning award, which itself is composed of the radical "大" indicating significance and the phonetic component "將" for pronunciation, with the character "牌", meaning tablet or plate, composed of the radical "片" denoting a flat piece and the phonetic "卑" for sound; together they create a compound where "奖" conveys the concept of rewarding and "牌" specifies the physical object, resulting in the meaning "medal".