The Chinese word **病菌 (bìngjūn)**, meaning "germ" or "pathogen," is a compound formed by combining two meaningful characters: **病 (bìng)**, which means "illness" or "disease," and **菌 (jūn)**, which means "bacterium" or "fungus." It is a typical example of a modifier-head structure in Chinese morphology, where the first character **病** ("disease") specifies the type or function of the second character **菌** ("bacterium"), effectively creating the meaning "disease-causing bacterium." This logical and semantic combination allows the compound to precisely convey the concept of a microorganism that induces sickness, reflecting the analytical and often transparent nature of Chinese word formation.