The word "女朋友" is formed by directly combining three individual characters, each contributing a clear layer of meaning to create a composite concept. Starting with "女" (nǚ), which means "female", it is then joined by "朋" (péng), meaning "friend", and finally "友" (yǒu), which also means "friend" or "companion". The sequence visually and conceptually builds from the general category of "female" to the specific, bonded relationship of "friendship", resulting in the understood meaning of "girlfriend", where the romantic or special nature of the friendship is implied by the combination itself rather than by any single character.