The Chinese word 祷告 (dǎogào), meaning "to pray", is formed by combining two characters: 祷, which conveys the idea of supplication or entreaty, often in a religious context, and 告, which means to tell or declare. Together, they create a compound where 告 amplifies 祷's sense of communication, effectively picturing the act of earnestly addressing a higher power with requests or devotion. This formation reflects a typical Chinese linguistic process where meaningful units are merged to express a nuanced concept through their combined imagery and semantics.