The word 耳濡目染 is formed by combining two parallel verb-object phrases: 耳濡, where 耳 means "ear" and 濡 means "moisten", and 目染, where 目 means "eye" and 染 means "dye". The characters are juxtaposed literally to describe ears being moistened and eyes being dyed, which metaphorically represent repeated hearing and seeing. This symmetrical pairing creates a compound idiom where the direct actions on sensory organs imply gradual influence through constant exposure.