The word 特别 is formed by combining the character 特, which historically meant "bull" or "male animal" and evolved to mean "special", structured with the radical 牛 (cow) and the phonetic component 寺, and the character 别, which originally meant "to separate" or "to distinguish", composed of 另 (another) and the knife radical 刂. Together, 特 conveys uniqueness and 别 adds a sense of differentiation, resulting in the combined meaning of "special" or "particularly".