The Chinese word 忐忑不安 is formed by first combining the characters 忐 and 忑, each built with the heart radical (心) below 上 (up) and 下 (down) respectively, visually depicting a heart oscillating between heights to imply inner turmoil; this pictorial compound is then directly paired with 不安, meaning "not peaceful", to reinforce and explicitly state the sense of anxiety or restlessness.