The word 钢琴 (gāngqín), meaning "piano", is formed by combining two conceptual building blocks: 钢 (gāng), which means "steel", and 琴 (qín), a general term for a stringed musical instrument. This combination directly describes the instrument's essential characteristic, it is a stringed instrument whose strings are traditionally made of steel, distinguishing it from ancient Chinese instruments that used silk strings. Thus, the term is a logical, descriptive compound born from observing the physical nature of the imported Western instrument.