The word "螳螂" is formed by combining two phono-semantic compound characters. "螳" incorporates the semantic component "虫" (insect) and the phonetic component "堂" (suggesting the sound "táng"), while "螂" similarly uses "虫" for meaning and "郎" for the sound "láng". Together, these characters create a disyllabic term specifically referring to the mantis insect.