The word 证明 is formed by combining two characters, each contributing a core conceptual layer: 证, which carries the idea of verification, testimony, or evidence, and 明, which means to clarify, illuminate, or make clear. Together, they conceptually fuse into the action of "making something clear through evidence", where one component provides the substance (evidence) and the other provides the resulting state (clarity), thereby forming the complete idea of "to prove" or "proof".