The Chinese word 褐色 (hèsè), meaning "brown", is a compound formed through semantic combination. The first character, 褐, originally referred to coarse cloth made from hemp or hair, which was typically left undyed in a natural brownish color. The second character, 色, means "color". Therefore, the word is formed by literally combining the concept of "coarse cloth" (褐) with "color" (色) to create the specific term for the earthy, natural shade associated with that material, functioning as a descriptive endocentric compound where 色 is the head meaning "color" and 褐 modifies it.