The word 诉讼 (sùsòng), meaning "lawsuit" or "litigation", is formed by combining two conceptually sequential actions. The first character, 诉 (sù), carries the core idea of "to tell", "to complain", or "to accuse", representing the act of bringing a grievance forward. The second character, 讼 (sòng), means "to dispute" or "to argue in a formal setting", specifically focusing on the ensuing debate or contestation before an authority. Thus, the compound naturally depicts the complete process of first stating an accusation and then engaging in a formal dispute over it, which perfectly encapsulates the essence of legal proceedings.