The Chinese idiom "小巫见大巫" is formed by combining the characters for "small" (小) and "witch" (巫) to create "小巫" (small witch), followed by the verb "见" (to meet), and then the characters for "big" (大) and "witch" (巫) again to create "大巫" (big witch), resulting in a literal sequence meaning "a small witch meets a big witch", where the juxtaposition of contrasting sizes via the encounter conveys a comparative relationship.