The word 共识 is formed through the conceptual fusion of two independent characters: 共 (gòng), meaning "shared" or "together", and 识 (shí), meaning "cognition", "knowledge", or "understanding". It is not a grammatical phrase but a compound where the first character modifies and defines the scope of the second. The concept is constructed by combining the idea of mutuality or collectivity (共) with the idea of recognition or awareness (识), resulting in the new, unified meaning of "common understanding" or "consensus".