The Chinese word **跟前** is formed through the semantic combination of its two constituent characters: **跟**, which originally means "heel" or "to follow," and **前**, meaning "front" or "before." When compounded, the literal sense of "at the heel and in front" evolves into an abstract spatial concept meaning "right in front of" or "in the immediate vicinity of" a person or object, effectively denoting proximity. This formation exemplifies how Chinese compounds often create new, specific meanings by blending the core ideas of individual characters, in this case merging two spatial references to emphasize closeness.