The word 跋山涉水 is formed by concatenating two verb-object phrases: 跋山, meaning "to trek over mountains", and 涉水, meaning "to wade through waters", with 跋 denoting trekking, 山 meaning mountain, 涉 denoting wading, and 水 meaning water. This direct pairing creates a compound that literally depicts the act of traversing rugged land and rivers, conveying a sense of arduous travel.