The word 冒充 is a compound verb formed by combining two characters with related meanings: 冒 (mào), which means "to risk" or "to falsely claim", and 充 (chōng), which means "to act as" or "to serve as". Together, they create a meaning that is more specific than either character alone, denoting the act of pretending to be someone or something one is not, with clear connotations of deception and fraud. This formation follows a common pattern in Chinese where two verbs or concepts are paired to express a single, more precise action or state, in this case, the action of falsely assuming an identity or role.