The Chinese word 上吊 (shàngdiào), meaning "to hang oneself", is a verb-object compound formed by combining the character 上 (shàng), which here conveys the directional meaning "up" or "upward", with 吊 (diào), meaning "to hang" or "to suspend". Literally, the compound describes the action of "hanging upward", a historical and euphemistic reference to the method of suicide where a person uses a noose suspended from above. This formation is typical in Chinese, where two meaningful characters are joined to create a specific, often vivid, term whose meaning is derived from, but more precise than, the sum of its parts.