The Chinese word 触动 is a compound formed by combining two meaningful characters: 触 (chù), which means "to touch" or "to contact", and 动 (dòng), which means "to move" or "to stir". Together, they create a verb that literally means "to touch and move", evolving into the figurative sense of "to触动 emotionally" or "to触动 by contact". It describes a stimulus, whether physical, as in triggering a mechanism, or more commonly abstract, as in a thought or event that stirs one's feelings or conscience, where an external contact provokes an internal movement or response.