The word 失灵 (shīlíng) is a compound formed by combining two characters: 失 (shī), meaning "to lose" or "to fail", and 灵 (líng), which in this context means "efficacy", "function", or "responsiveness". Together, they create a verb meaning "to malfunction" or "to be out of order", literally conveying the idea of an object or system losing its intended function or effectiveness. This formation is typical of modern Chinese, where two meaningful characters are joined to produce a new, precise term, as seen in common phrases like 刹车失灵 (shāchē shīlíng) , "brake failure".