The Chinese word 池塘 (chí táng) is a compound noun formed by combining two semantically related characters: 池 (chí), meaning "pond" or "pool", and 塘 (táng), meaning "embankment", "dike", or a similarly banked-up body of water. This type of formation, where two near-synonyms are joined, is common in Chinese to create a more precise or general concept. Together, they reinforce the idea of a contained, often artificial or managed, body of still water, resulting in the comprehensive meaning of "pond" or "pool".