The word 居民 is formed by combining two characters, each contributing a core meaning to create a new concept. The first character, 居 (jū), carries the fundamental idea of "to reside" or "to dwell". The second character, 民 (mín), means "the people" or "populace". When joined, they logically combine to mean "residing people", which naturally translates to the single concept of "residents" or "inhabitants" of a place.