The Chinese word 节食 (jiéshí), meaning "to diet" or "practice dietary restriction," is a compound formed through semantic combination. The first character, 节 (jié), carries the core meaning of "to regulate," "restrain," or "economize," while the second character, 食 (shí), means "food" or "to eat." When combined, they create a verb-object relationship where 节 acts upon 食, literally conveying the concept of "regulating food" or "restraining eating," which accurately encapsulates the modern sense of consciously limiting food intake for health or weight management.