The Chinese word 人世 (rénshì), meaning "the human world" or "mortal life", is a compound formed by combining two independent, meaningful characters: 人 (rén), meaning "person" or "human", and 世 (shì), meaning "world", "generation", or "era". Their combination is conceptually straightforward, following a common "modifier-head" structure in Chinese where the first element specifies the second; here, 人 specifies the kind of 世, resulting in the "human world" or "realm of human society", distinct from, for instance, the natural or spiritual realms. This formation exemplifies how classical Chinese frequently creates abstract or societal terms by juxtaposing concrete characters to express a cohesive, nuanced idea.