The Chinese word 忍心 (rěnxīn) is a compound formed through a logical verb-object relationship between its two component characters: 忍 (rěn), meaning "to endure", "to bear", or "to harden oneself", and 心 (xīn), meaning "heart" or "feelings". Literally, it means "to harden one's heart", and it functions as a verb describing the act of steeling oneself to do something that causes distress to another (or even to oneself), implying a reluctance or emotional difficulty in proceeding. The formation is semantic, where the first character denotes an action applied to the object represented by the second character, resulting in an abstract psychological concept meaning to be heartless enough to do something painful.