The word 篮球 (lánqiú, meaning "basketball") is formed by logically combining two meaningful characters: 篮 (lán), which means "basket", and 球 (qiú), which means "ball". It is a direct, pictorially descriptive compound where the first character specifies the defining object or goal of the game (the basket), and the second character specifies the central equipment used (the ball), together creating the name for the entire sport.