The Chinese word **蔑视 (mièshì)**, meaning "to despise" or "to scorn," is a compound formed through semantic combination. It consists of the character **蔑 (miè)**, which carries the core meaning of "to disregard," "to belittle," or "to treat as insignificant," and the character **视 (shì)**, which means "to look at" or "to regard." When combined, the word literally conveys the concept of "looking at (视) someone or something with disdain or contempt (蔑)," creating a powerful verb that describes an attitude of looking down upon and mentally dismissing the object of one's regard. This formation follows a common Chinese lexical pattern where a descriptive or emotional element modifies an action verb to produce a specific, nuanced meaning.