The Chinese word 核对 (héduì, meaning "to verify" or "to check") is a compound word formed by combining two independent characters, each contributing a crucial semantic layer: 核 (hé), which carries the core meaning of "to examine", "to investigate", or "to scrutinize" (like checking the nucleus or core of a matter), and 对 (duì), which means "to compare", "to pair", or "to align against a standard" (implying a face-to-face comparison for correctness). When combined, the first character 核 provides the action of detailed inspection, while the second character 对 specifies the method, comparing against an original, a record, or a set standard to confirm accuracy, thus creating the comprehensive meaning of "to carefully check and verify by comparison".