The word 古怪 is formed by combining two characters whose individual meanings merge to create a new, more vivid concept. The first character, 古 (gǔ), means "ancient" or "old", suggesting something from a distant, bygone time. The second, 怪 (guài), means "strange" or "unusual". Together, they convey the idea of an eccentricity or oddity that feels as if it comes from another age, a kind of strange, antiquated peculiarity that seems out of step with the modern world, thus intensifying the sense of the bizarre.