The Chinese word 灯泡 (dēngpào), meaning "light bulb", is a straightforward compound noun formed by combining two characters: 灯 (dēng), which means "lamp" or "light", and 泡 (pào), which in this context means "bulb" or "bubble" (evoking the round, glass shape of early bulbs). This follows a common descriptive or modifier-head structure in Chinese, where the first element specifies the category (a type of lamp) and the second element specifies the particular form or component (a bulb-shaped object). The term can also be used metaphorically in slang (as a "third wheel") due to the bulb's association with bright, unwanted illumination.