The Chinese word 空姐 (kōngjiě), meaning "flight attendant" (specifically female), is formed through a straightforward compounding process common in Mandarin. It combines the character 空 (kōng), meaning "sky" or "air", which indicates the domain of aviation, with the character 姐 (jiě), meaning "older sister", which is a common and respectful term for a young woman. Together, they create a literal meaning of "sky sister", a colloquial and efficient compound noun that semantically designates a woman who works in the cabin crew of an aircraft. This type of word formation, where two independent morphemes are combined to produce a new, specific meaning, is a fundamental feature of Chinese vocabulary construction.