The word 皇室 is formed by combining two conceptual building blocks: 皇 (huáng), meaning "emperor" or "imperial", with 室 (shì), which originally means "room" or "chamber" but here conveys the extended idea of "household" or "family". Together, they create a single, unified concept, the physical and metaphorical "imperial household", representing the institution, lineage, and domestic establishment of the emperor, essentially the royal family itself.