The word 压力 is formed through a metaphorical combination of its two component characters: 压, which means "to press down" or "to crush", and 力, which means "force" or "strength". Together, they create the literal concept of a "pressing force", like a physical weight. This concrete image is then extended metaphorically to describe the abstract feeling of mental or social burden, where external demands or internal anxieties are perceived as a weight pressing down upon a person, thus forming the modern meaning of "pressure" or "stress".