The Chinese word "彩虹" (cǎihóng), meaning "rainbow", is formed by combining two pictographic and ideographic characters. The first character, "彩", conveys the concept of color or multicolored patterns through its components: "采", which originally depicted a hand picking fruits, suggesting collection or variety, and "彡", a radical representing decorative lines or streaks, together evoking vivid hues. The second character, "虹", represents the rainbow itself, historically viewed as a mythical serpent or dragon in the sky, as seen in its composition: "虫", meaning insect or creature, alluding to this serpentine shape, and "工", which may indicate phonetic sound or structural form. Thus, "彩虹" merges the imagery of diverse colors with the archaic perception of a rainbow as a celestial arc, forming a compound that visually and symbolically captures the essence of a rainbow.