The word "艺人" is formed through the direct and conceptual combination of its two component characters: "艺" (yì), which means "art", "skill", or "craft", and "人" (rén), which means "person" or "human". Together, they fuse to create the composite idea of an "art-person" or a "skill-person", semantically denoting an individual whose profession or identity is fundamentally tied to the practice and performance of an artistic or entertainment skill. This formation intuitively builds the meaning from its core parts, evolving from a historical term for any skilled artisan to its modern primary use for a performer or entertainer.