The word 耻辱 (chǐrǔ) is formed through the powerful conceptual combination of two deeply related ideas of disgrace. The first character, 耻, primarily conveys the internal, self-conscious feeling of shame, the personal sting of failing one's own or society's standards. The second, 辱, strongly signifies the external aspect: the humiliation, insult, or dishonor inflicted by others or by circumstance. Together, they create a complete, layered concept where the internal emotional wound (耻) is inseparable from and often caused by the external act of degradation (辱), forming a single integrated idea of profound disgrace encompassing both the objective event and the subjective, painful feeling it produces.