The Chinese word "以柔克刚" is formed by the sequential combination of four characters: 以, which functions as a preposition meaning "using"; 柔, a noun meaning "softness"; 克, a verb meaning "to overcome"; and 刚, a noun meaning "hardness". These characters are arranged to create a phrase where 以 introduces the method, 柔 is the method itself, 克 denotes the action, and 刚 is the target, literally producing the meaning "using softness to overcome hardness".