The Chinese word "资本" (zīběn), meaning "capital" in the economic sense, is a compound noun formed through the combination of two meaningful characters: "资" (zī), which conveys the idea of resources, funds, or assets, and "本" (běn), whose core meaning is "root," "origin," or "principal." When merged, the characters create a semantic fusion where "资" specifies the nature of the resource (financial or material), and "本" emphasizes its foundational or principal character, thus yielding the comprehensive concept of "capital" as the fundamental stock of wealth used to generate more wealth. This formation follows the typical Chinese pattern of combining two existing, semantically related morphemes to produce a new, more specific term.