The word 花生酱 is formed by combining 花生, meaning "peanut", with 酱, meaning "sauce" or "paste". 花生 itself consists of 花 ("flower") and 生 ("to grow"), referring to the peanut plant, but in this compound, it functions as a single unit specifying the ingredient. Adding 酱 creates a noun phrase where 花生 modifies 酱 to denote a sauce made from peanuts, thus yielding the meaning "peanut butter".