The word 想象力 is formed by combining three characters: 想, meaning "to think" or "to imagine"; 象, meaning "image" or "form"; and 力, meaning "power" or "ability". Together, they create a compound where 想 and 象 combine to convey the concept of "imagining images", and 力 adds the notion of a capacity, resulting in the meaning "imagination" as the faculty or power to form mental images.