The Chinese word **歪曲** (*wāiqū*, meaning "to distort" or "to twist") is a compound word formed through semantic combination. The first character, **歪** (*wāi*), literally means "crooked" or "askew," while the second character, **曲** (*qū*), means "bent" or "curved." When combined, their literal meanings of physical bending and crookedness are extended metaphorically to describe the figurative action of twisting facts, truths, or meanings away from their original, correct, or straight form, resulting in the abstract sense of misrepresentation or distortion.