The word 碳酸氢钠 is formed by sequentially combining characters for specific chemical components: 碳 (carbon) and 酸 (acid) combine to form 碳酸, meaning carbonate; the addition of 氢 (hydrogen) creates 碳酸氢, meaning bicarbonate; and finally 钠 (sodium) is appended to specify the cation, resulting in the complete term for sodium bicarbonate.