The word "恍惚" is formed by combining two characters, each constructed with the semantic component 忄, representing mind or heart, to convey the mental state meaning. The character 恍 uses 光 as its phonetic component to suggest pronunciation, while 惚 uses 忽 as its phonetic component. Together, they create a disyllabic word where both characters contribute semantically to the concept of being absent-minded or in a trance, with the phonetic elements providing cues for reading each part.