The word "恻隐" is formed by combining two characters: 恻, which means sorrowful or compassionate and is composed of the heart radical 忄 with the phonetic component 则, and 隐, which means hidden or concealed and is composed of the mound radical 阝 with the phonetic component 㥯. Together, these characters merge their meanings to express the concept of inner compassion or pity, with 恻 contributing the sense of compassionate sorrow and 隐 indicating that it is an inward, hidden feeling.