The word "公路" (gōnglù), meaning "highway" or "public road", is formed by combining two conceptual building blocks: the first character "公" (gōng), which carries the core idea of "public" or "common", and the second character "路" (lù), which means "road" or "path". Together, they create a compound where the concept of "public" directly modifies the concept of "road", resulting in the integrated meaning of a major road for public, common use, as opposed to a private path or a small local lane.