The word 电影 (diànyǐng) for "movie" is formed by combining two conceptual building blocks: 电 (diàn), meaning "electricity" or "electric", and 影 (yǐng), meaning "shadow" or "image". It is a direct, descriptive compound that visually captures the early technology of motion pictures, literally an "electric shadow", where projected light (electricity) casts moving images (shadows) onto a screen. The term conceptually fuses the modern medium (electric power) with the ancient art of shadow play, encapsulating the entire phenomenon in a single, vivid compound.