The Chinese word 打针 (dǎzhēn), meaning "to give or receive an injection", is a verb-object compound formed through semantic extension and common usage. The character 打 (dǎ), whose core meaning is "to hit" or "to strike", has broadened in modern Chinese to function as a general-purpose verb for many actions, similar to "do" in English. It is combined with 针 (zhēn), which means "needle". Literally, the compound suggests "to hit with a needle" or "to apply a needle", but through conventional use in medical contexts, it has become the standard term for the action of administering a shot or vaccination, effectively meaning "to inject".