The word 年轻 is formed by combining the character 年 (nián), meaning "year" or "age", with the character 轻 (qīng), which means "light" in weight. Conceptually, it creates the image of having few years or a light burden of age, directly and metaphorically conveying the state of being young. It is a straightforward, idea-based compound where the two notions merge to express the single, unified concept of youth.