The word 时候 is formed by combining two characters, each contributing a facet of time. 时 (shí) carries the core meaning of "time", "era", or "season", representing time in a general or broader sense. 候 (hòu) originally relates to "waiting", "observing", or a "measured interval", contributing the idea of a specific moment, a point in time, or a duration one experiences. Together, they fuse to express the concept of a particular or general "time when" something occurs, merging the abstract flow of time with the concrete experience of a moment within it.