The word 懦夫 is formed by combining two characters: 懦, which conveys the idea of being timid, weak-willed, or lacking courage, and 夫, which simply means a man or person. Together, they create a single, evocative concept where the first character paints the quality (cowardice) and the second character specifies the bearer of that quality, resulting in the direct and descriptive compound meaning of "coward", a person defined by their weakness of spirit.