The word 煎饼 is formed by combining two meaningful characters: 煎, which means "to pan-fry", and 饼, which means "a flat cake" or "pancake". It is a straightforward compound where the first character describes the primary cooking method (frying in a pan or on a griddle), and the second character names the general category of food. Together, they logically and descriptively create the name for a specific food item, a flatbread that is cooked by frying.