The Chinese word 纠纷 (jiūfēn), meaning "dispute" or "conflict", is a compound formed by combining two characters with related meanings. The first character, 纠 (jiū), carries the core idea of entanglement, involvement, or twisting together, as in strands of thread. The second character, 纷 (fēn), conveys a sense of numerousness, disorder, or confusion. When combined, they create a vivid metaphorical image of issues, interests, or arguments being "intertwined and numerous", effectively picturing a complicated, messy disagreement that is difficult to unravel. Thus, the formation is semantic, where both components contribute to the overall meaning of a tangled, multi-faceted conflict.