The Chinese word **牙签 (yáqiān)**, meaning "toothpick," is a straightforward compound noun formed by combining two independent characters: **牙 (yá)**, which means "tooth," and **签 (qiān)**, which means "a slender pointed piece" or "pick." It follows the common **modifier-modified** grammatical structure in Chinese, where the first character specifies the object's purpose (for the *tooth*), and the second character denotes the object's form and function (a *pick* or *stick*). This logical, semantic combination creates a highly transparent and descriptive term that directly conveys the item's use.