The word 英语 (Yīngyǔ), meaning "English language", is formed through a straightforward compound structure common in Chinese for naming languages. It combines the character 英 (Yīng), which is the shorthand designation for England or Britain (derived from the first character of its Chinese name 英格兰, Yīnggélán), with the character 语 (yǔ), which means "language". Therefore, the term is constructed by directly stating the geographical/cultural origin ("England") followed by the category ("language"), creating the literal concept of "England-language".