The word 饮料 is formed by combining two meaningful characters. The first, 饮, depicts the action of drinking, originally showing a person kneeling over a vessel. The second, 料, often relates to materials or substances, combining symbols for grain and a measuring vessel. When joined, they conceptually blend the action of consuming a liquid with the idea of a processed material, shifting the focus from the act to the substance itself, thus creating the meaning "beverage" or "drink".