About
The Chinese word "方向盘" (fāngxiàngpán), meaning "steering wheel", is a semantically transparent compound formed by combining two nouns: "方向" (fāngxiàng), which means "direction", and "盘" (pán), which means "disk", "tray", or "wheel". It is constructed on a descriptive or functional principle, where the first element, "方向", specifies the purpose (controlling direction) and the second element, "盘", describes the object's physical form (a circular, disk-like apparatus). Thus, the compound logically and visually denotes the "direction disk" or the wheel that controls direction, perfectly illustrating a common Chinese word-formation method where meaningful components are combined to create a new, easily understood concept.