The word 想像 is formed by combining two characters: 想 (xiǎng), meaning "to think" or "to contemplate", and 像 (xiàng), meaning "image", "likeness", or "resemblance". Together, they create a conceptual fusion where the act of thinking (想) actively engages with or generates mental pictures and forms (像), thus encapsulating the process and result of forming ideas and visualizations in the mind, the essence of imagination.