The word 草莓 (cǎo méi, "strawberry") is formed by combining two characters: 草 (cǎo), meaning "grass", and 莓 (méi), a generic character for "berry". It is a straightforward, descriptive compound where the plant is visually and conceptually characterized as a "grass berry", directly referencing the low-growing, herbaceous nature of the plant and its berry fruit. This method of naming reflects a common pattern in Chinese for creating terms by combining tangible, observable characteristics of the natural world.