The word 哪里 is formed through the direct combination of two existing characters: 哪, an interrogative character meaning "which", and 里, a character denoting "inside" or a general locale. By blending these concepts, the compound naturally creates a spatial question meaning "which inside?" or more fluidly, "at which place?", establishing its fundamental sense of inquiring about location. This formation is a straightforward example of semantic compounding in Chinese, where the meaning of the whole is derived from the logical sum of its parts.