The word "一氧化氮" is formed by sequentially combining the character for "one" (一) to indicate a single atom, the character for "oxygen" (氧) to specify the element, the character for "change" or "compound" (化) to denote a chemical combination, and the character for "nitrogen" (氮) to identify the other element, resulting in a direct literal representation of the chemical compound nitric oxide (NO) as one oxygen atom bonded to one nitrogen atom.