The word **稿子 (gǎozi)**, meaning "draft" or "manuscript," is formed through a classic Chinese morphological process of root compounding followed by suffixation. The core morpheme **稿 (gǎo)** originally meant "grain stalk" or "rough straw," a meaning which semantically extended to "rough draft" or "preliminary written work" by metaphorical association with something foundational yet unrefined. The suffix **子 (zi)** is then attached—a highly common nominalizing suffix in Mandarin—which serves to convert the root into a concrete, everyday noun, often adding a tone of familiarity or denoting a tangible object, thus finalizing **稿子** as the standard term for a physical or conceptual draft document.