The word 如果 is formed through the combination of two distinct characters, each contributing its core meaning to create a new abstract concept. The first character, 如, originally depicted a woman following commands, carrying the essential idea of "to follow" or "likeness", thus meaning "like" or "as if". The second character, 果, is a pictograph of a tree (木) with heavy fruit (田) at its top, representing the concrete "fruit" or, by extension, an "outcome" or "result". When compounded, the literal sense of "following the fruit" or "in accordance with the result" evolved metaphorically into the logical and conditional meaning of "if", conceptualizing a premise that leads to a consequent outcome.