The Chinese word **缩短 (suōduǎn)**, meaning "to shorten" or "to reduce," is a typical **resultative verb compound** formed by combining two meaningful characters: **缩 (suō)**, which means "to contract" or "to shrink," and **短 (duǎn)**, which means "short." In this structure, the first character denotes the action or process (contracting), while the second character explicitly states the intended result or outcome of that action (becoming short). This logical and grammatical construction is common in Chinese for creating precise verbs that convey both an action and its effect in a single, efficient term.