The Chinese word 轰动 (hōngdòng), meaning "to cause a sensation" or "to create a stir", is a compound formed by combining two characters: 轰 (hōng), which imitates a loud, rumbling sound like an explosion or thunder, conveying a sense of sudden, noisy impact, and 动 (dòng), meaning "to move" or "to shake". Together, they create a vivid metaphorical image of an event or news that "explosively shakes" the public or a community, effectively capturing the concept of something rapidly spreading and profoundly affecting people, much like a shockwave. This formation is typical of Chinese vocabulary, where semantic elements are combined to produce a new, figurative meaning greater than the sum of its parts.