The word 空调 (kōngtiáo), meaning "air conditioner", is formed by combining two meaningful characters into a single conceptual unit. The first character, 空 (kōng), means "air" or "sky", and the second, 调 (tiáo), means "to adjust" or "to regulate". Together, they create a new, composite idea that literally translates to "air adjuster", directly and descriptively representing the function of the device that regulates and conditions the air in a space.