The word **辣椒酱** (làjiāo jiàng), meaning "chili sauce," is formed through a logical and semantic compound structure in Chinese. It combines **辣** (là - spicy), the adjective describing the key sensation, with **椒** (jiāo - pepper), the specific type of plant, to create the core noun **辣椒** (chili pepper). This noun is then directly modified by **酱** (jiàng - sauce/paste), which indicates the processed, culinary form of the ingredient. The entire compound thus follows a descriptive and hierarchical pattern: a defining characteristic + a base object, which then becomes the main ingredient for a final product, resulting in the meaning "spicy-pepper-sauce."