The word 烧烤 is formed through the logical combination of two distinct but related actions depicted by their characters: 烧 (shāo), meaning to burn or to cook with fire, and 烤 (kǎo), meaning to roast or bake over direct heat. By placing them together, the compound visually and conceptually merges these two fiery cooking processes into a single, cohesive idea that specifically represents the method of barbecuing or grilling food over an open flame or hot coals, capturing the entire activity from the application of fire to the act of roasting itself.