The Chinese word 玩牌 (wán pái) is a verb-object compound formed by combining the verb 玩 (wán), meaning "to play" or "to have fun with", with the noun 牌 (pái), meaning "cards" or "tiles". This structure directly follows the logical action-purpose sequence common in Chinese, where the verb governs its object, resulting in the literal meaning "to play cards". It is a standard and efficient way to form a specific activity term from two independent, meaningful characters.