The word 预报 (yùbào), meaning "forecast" or "prediction", is a compound formed by combining two meaningful characters: 预 (yù), which means "in advance" or "beforehand", and 报 (bào), which means "to report" or "a report". Together, they create a logical semantic unit where 预 modifies 报 to specify the type of report, one that is made before an event occurs, thus directly conveying the concept of a "forecast", such as in weather (天气预报) or news reporting.