The word 黑暗 is formed through a direct, conceptual merging of two characters that each embody the absence of light. 黑 (hēi) represents "black", the visual color of utter darkness, while 暗 (àn) conveys "dimness" or "obscurity", the condition of having little to no light. They are placed side-by-side not by grammatical rule, but through a natural, almost sensory fusion, where one intensifies the other to evoke a profound, enveloping sense of darkness that is both visual and atmospheric.