The word 辜负 (gūfù), meaning "to let someone down" or "to fail to live up to (trust, kindness, expectations)", is a classical Chinese compound formed through the combination of two characters, each contributing a specific nuance. The first character, 辜 (gū), originally meant "crime" or "offense", while the second, 负 (fù), means "to bear" or "to carry on the back". Together, they create a powerful metaphor: to "bear the offense" or "carry the guilt" of having failed someone's goodwill or trust. This formation reflects a common pattern in literary Chinese where concrete actions (bearing a burden) are used to express abstract moral or emotional failures, solidifying into a single term for betrayal of trust.