The word "精灵" is formed by combining the character "精", which originates from the radical "米" (rice) and the phonetic component "青", historically denoting refined essence or vitality, with the character "灵", a simplified form of "靈" that incorporates elements related to supernatural efficacy, such as the rain radical "雨" and shaman radical "巫". Together, these characters semantically merge to refer to mythical spirits or elves, with "精" contributing the notion of essential spirit and "灵" adding the concept of supernatural being.