The word 恋童癖 is formed by combining 恋 (liàn, meaning 'love' or 'attachment'), 童 (tóng, meaning 'child'), and 癖 (pǐ, meaning 'addiction' or 'obsession'); 恋童 denotes 'love of children,' and adding 癖 specifies a pathological fixation, creating the term for pedophilia.