The word 气氛 (qìfēn) is formed through the meaningful combination of two characters: 气 (qì), which fundamentally represents "air", "vapor", or "energy", and 氛 (fēn), which carries the sense of an "aura", "ambient sign", or "surrounding vapor". Together, they create a compound concept where 气 provides the foundational idea of an intangible, pervasive medium, and 氛 specifies it as a surrounding, often emotional or situational, emanation. The formation is conceptual, fusing the tangible notion of atmospheric air with the intangible sense of a prevailing mood, resulting in the holistic meaning of "atmosphere" or "ambience" that permeates a space or event.