The Chinese word 水獭 (shuǐtǎ), meaning "otter," is a compound noun formed through semantic combination: the first character 水 (shuǐ) means "water," describing the animal's primary habitat, and the second character 獭 (tǎ) specifically means "otter," identifying the creature itself. Thus, the term literally translates to "water otter," which is a straightforward, descriptive label highlighting the otter's aquatic nature, following a common pattern in Chinese where a general category (water) is paired with a specific animal name.