The formation of 不得不 is a conceptual construction built through layered negation, where the repeated character 不 (bù, meaning "not") encloses and interacts with 得 (dé/deˇ, here implying "must" or "can"). This structure does not simply combine meanings additively but creates a new, compressed logical relationship. The first 不 negates the possibility implied by 得, and the second 不 then negates that very negation, effectively creating a double negative. This results in a meaning of inescapable necessity, "cannot not", where the force of the outcome is framed as emerging irresistibly from the cancellation of its own impossibility.