The Chinese word "披星戴月" is formed by combining two parallel verb-object phrases: "披星" (to wear stars) and "戴月" (to wear moon). The characters "披" and "戴" are verbs meaning "to drape" or "to wear", while "星" and "月" are nouns for "stars" and "moon". This literal pairing of actions with celestial objects constructs a concrete image of being outside during both night and early morning, directly conveying the idea of working or traveling from dawn until dusk.