The word 得罪 (dézuì) is a verb-object compound formed through semantic fusion, where the literal meaning of its components has shifted to create an idiomatic expression. Originally, 得 meant "to obtain" and 罪 meant "offense" or "guilt", so the phrase literally meant "to incur an offense or blame". Over time, its meaning grammaticalized and extended metaphorically to signify the act of causing displeasure or committing a social transgression against someone, specifically "to offend". In this construction, 得 no longer functions as an independent verb of acquisition but has become a grammaticalized prefix in the compound, with the entire unit now conveying the single action of offending another person.