The word 蚂蚁 (mǎyǐ, meaning "ant") is formed through a logical, pictorial-ideographic process in Chinese character construction. Both characters share the same radical, 虫 (chóng), which means "insect" or "creature", placed on the left side to visually categorize the creature as an insect. The right side of each character provides a phonetic hint: 马 (mǎ) in 蚂 suggests the first syllable's sound, while 义 (yǐ) in 蚁 suggests the second syllable's sound. Therefore, the combination visually signals "an insect that is pronounced 'mǎyǐ'", creating a single, coherent concept for the specific creature from two complementary, meaning-and-sound component parts.