The word **暑期 (shǔqī)**, meaning "summer vacation period," is a compound noun formed through straightforward semantic combination. It consists of the character **暑 (shǔ)**, which means "summer heat" or the hot season, and **期 (qī)**, which means "a period of time" or "a designated term." When combined, the first character **暑** modifies the second character **期**, specifying it as the particular "period" related to summer, effectively creating the meaning "the summer period," which in common usage refers to the extended holiday break during the hot months. This structure follows the common Chinese word-formation pattern where a descriptive element precedes a core noun.