The word 招贤纳士 is formed by combining two parallel verb-object phrases: 招贤, meaning "to recruit the virtuous", and 纳士, meaning "to admit scholars". The characters 招 and 纳 are verbs indicating actions of inviting and accepting, while 贤 and 士 are nouns referring to talented or worthy individuals. These phrases are joined to create a compound idiom where the similar meanings of each half reinforce the overall concept of recruiting and welcoming capable people.