The Chinese word 幸灾乐祸 is formed from the characters 幸 (rejoice), 灾 (disaster), 乐 (enjoy), and 祸 (misfortune). It combines the two parallel phrases 幸灾 (rejoice in disaster) and 乐祸 (enjoy misfortune), where each verb-noun pair reinforces the same action, resulting in a compound idiom meaning to take pleasure in others' calamity.