The word 摇滚乐 is formed by combining the vivid, action-oriented metaphor 摇滚 (yáogǔn – "to shake and roll") with the category-defining character 乐 (yuè – "music"). It directly translates the English term "rock and roll" by first capturing its core physical essence, the shaking and rolling movement associated with the music's energy and attitude, and then appending the character for "music" to clearly designate it as a musical genre.