The Chinese word 零食 (língshí) for "snack" is a compound word formed by combining two characters: 零 (líng), which means "scattered", "fragmentary", or "odd", and 食 (shí), which means "food" or "to eat". Together, they literally convey the idea of "scattered bits of food" or "eating at odd times", distinguishing snacks from the main, regular meals (正餐). This formation reflects a conceptual categorization where 零 describes the incidental, non-central nature of the food items.