The word 形象 is formed by combining two characters, each contributing a layer of meaning to create a unified concept. The first character, 形 (xíng), means "form", "shape", or "physical structure". The second, 象 (xiàng), means "image", "appearance", or "representation". Together, they conceptually merge to express the idea of the visual or perceptible form of something, how it is shaped and how it appears, encompassing both its concrete outline and its overall impression or depicted likeness.