The Chinese word 站台 (zhàntái, meaning "platform" as in a train or bus platform) is a compound formed through semantic combination: the first character 站 (zhàn) means "to stand" or "station", implying a place where one stands or a vehicle stops, while the second character 台 (tái) means "platform" or "stage". Together, they create a precise meaning, a raised platform or designated area at a station where passengers stand to board or alight from vehicles, with the combination following the common Chinese morphological pattern of modifying a general category (台, platform) with a specific function or context (站, station-related).