The Chinese word "钩子" (gōuzi), meaning "hook," is a compound formed through a common morphological process in Mandarin. It combines the meaningful root character "钩" (gōu), which denotes the concept of "hooking" or "crooking," with the suffix "子" (zi), a nominalizer frequently used to form concrete nouns, often indicating tools or small objects. This structure, "semantic root + 子," transforms the verbal or descriptive idea of "钩" into a tangible, everyday object—a hook. The suffix adds no specific meaning but standardizes the word as a noun, making it a natural and colloquial term for the object.