The Chinese word **官僚 (guānliáo)**, meaning "bureaucrat" or "bureaucracy," is a compound term formed by combining two semantically related characters: **官 (guān)**, which means "official" or "officer," and **僚 (liáo)**, which historically refers to an "associate" or "colleague in office." Together, they originally denoted the collective body of officials and their administrative apparatus, with **僚** emphasizing the subordinate or peer relationships within the official hierarchy. Over time, the term evolved to encapsulate the entire system of government administration, often carrying a negative connotation of excessive red tape and rigid, impersonal authority.