The word 郊区 is formed by combining two characters: 郊, which means "outskirts" or "the area surrounding a city", and 区, which means "area" or "district". The formation is directly logical and visual, where the second character 区 categorizes and generalizes the concept introduced by the first. Thus, 郊区 essentially denotes the "outskirts area" or the "surrounding district" of an urban center, creating a single, compound concept from its two constituent meanings.