The word 忏悔 is formed through the combination of two characters, each contributing a layer of meaning to create a profound, unified concept. The first character, 忏, carries the sense of confessing or admitting one’s faults and errors. The second, 悔, embodies the deep feeling of regret, remorse, and repentance for those same actions. Together, they fuse into a single idea that describes the complete inner process: the conscious acknowledgment of a wrong followed by the sincere emotional remorse for it, forming a holistic act of contrition.