The Chinese word **品种** (pǐnzhǒng), meaning "variety," "breed," or "cultivar," is a **compound word formed by combining two meaningful characters**. The first character, **品** (pǐn), originally depicts three mouths or vessels, conveying notions of "grade," "class," or "kind." The second, **种** (zhǒng), signifies "seed," "species," or "type." When combined, they create a semantic synergy where **品** emphasizes qualitative classification or ranking within a group, and **种** specifies the biological or genetic kind. Thus, 品种 precisely refers to a distinct sub-type or cultivated variety within a broader species, commonly used in contexts like agriculture, biology, and commerce to denote specific breeds or strains.