The word 今后 is formed by combining two individual characters, each contributing its core meaning to create a new, composite concept. The first character, 今 (jīn), means "now" or "the present". The second character, 后 (hòu), means "after" or "behind". When placed together, they construct a sequential temporal idea: starting from "this present moment" and extending into the "time that comes after", thereby forming the unified meaning of "from now on" or "hereafter". It is a direct conceptual fusion of time reference points.