The word "蟪蛄" is formed by combining two characters, each constructed as a phono-semantic compound. "蟪" uses the radical "虫" (insect) to indicate its category, with "惠" providing phonetic approximation for "huì". Similarly, "蛄" pairs the same "虫" radical with "古" for the sound "gǔ". Together, they create a binome denoting a specific type of cicada, where both characters contribute semantically through the shared insect radical and phonetically through their respective components.