The word "票贩子" is formed by combining three characters: 票, meaning "ticket"; 贩, meaning "to deal in" or "sell"; and 子, a suffix that denotes a person. Together, 票 specifies the item involved, 贩 indicates the action of selling, and 子 turns the phrase into a noun referring to an individual who engages in selling tickets, typically implying illegal resale or scalping.