The Chinese word **质问 (zhìwèn)**, meaning "to question," "to interrogate," or "to call to account," is a compound verb formed through the combination of two meaningful characters: **质 (zhì)**, which in this context carries the meaning of "to question" or "to challenge" (derived from its core sense of "substance" or "essence," implying a demand to get to the truth), and **问 (wèn)**, which means "to ask." It follows a common morphological pattern in Chinese where two synonymous or semantically related verbs are paired together to create a single, often more forceful or specific term. Here, both components reinforce the core action of demanding answers, with **质** adding a connotation of accountability and seriousness, resulting in a word that means to ask pointedly and demandingly.