The word 骷髅 is formed by combining two characters that both individually evoke the image of bones. The first character, 骷, primarily suggests the skull or the head part of a skeleton, while the second, 髅, reinforces the concept of the entire skeletal frame or dry bones. Together, they create a single, powerful compound that visually and conceptually represents a complete human skeleton, specifically one that is bare, dry, and often used to evoke death or horror, with the repetition of the bone-radical elements intensifying the macabre imagery.