The word 农夫 (nóngfū), meaning "farmer", is a compound formed by combining two meaningful characters: 农 (nóng), which signifies "agriculture" or "farming", and 夫 (fū), which denotes "man" or "laborer". Together, they create a straightforward semantic compound where the whole meaning is derived from the sum of its parts, literally, an "agriculture man" or a man who works in farming, reflecting a traditional and somewhat classical term for a male peasant or farmhand.