The Chinese word "不堪" is a compound formed by combining the negative adverb "不" (bù), meaning "not", with the verb "堪" (kān), which means "to bear", "to endure", or "to be capable of". Literally, it means "cannot bear" or "unbearable". This structure follows a standard grammatical pattern in Classical Chinese where an adverb negates a verb to create a new descriptive term. Over time, its meaning expanded from the literal sense of physical or emotional incapacity to endure something (e.g., 不堪重负, "unable to bear the heavy load") to a more abstract and intensive adjectival or adverbial meaning of "extremely" or "utterly" in a negative context (e.g., 疲惫不堪, "extremely exhausted"), describing a state that has reached an unbearable limit.