The word **碰撞** is a compound formed by combining two characters with closely related meanings. The first character, **碰 (pèng)**, primarily means "to touch" or "to bump into," while the second, **撞 (zhuàng)**, carries a stronger sense of "to hit," "to strike," or "to collide." When paired together in modern Chinese, they create a disyllabic word that emphasizes and intensifies the concept of a physical impact or collision, often implying a degree of force or accident. This formation follows a common pattern in Chinese where near-synonyms are combined to form a more specific or nuanced term, with the combined meaning covering the semantic ground of both individual characters—essentially meaning "to collide and impact."