The Chinese word 摄像 (shèxiàng) is a compound term formed by combining two meaningful characters: 摄 (shè), which means "to capture" or "to record", and 像 (xiàng), which means "image" or "likeness". Together, they create a verb-object relationship where 摄 acts upon 像, literally meaning "to capture an image". In modern usage, it specifically refers to the act of recording moving images, i.e., videography or video recording, distinguishing it from photography (which is 摄影, shèyǐng, "to capture shadow/light"). The term thus logically builds from its components to describe the technological process of creating a video.