The word 队长 is formed by directly combining two characters, each contributing its core meaning to create a new, compound idea. The first character, 队 (duì), means "team" or "squad", establishing the collective unit. The second character, 长 (zhǎng), means "chief" or "head", indicating a person of authority. By placing them together, the concept is assembled visually and semantically: the "head" (长) of the "team" (队), resulting in the meaning "team leader" or "captain".