The word 抒情诗 is formed by combining the characters 抒 (meaning to express or convey), 情 (meaning emotion or feeling), and 诗 (meaning poetry). In this compound, 抒情 acts as a modifier that describes the type of poetry, literally meaning "expressing emotion", and when attached to 诗, it creates the term for "lyric poetry", which refers to poetry that focuses on personal emotions.