The word 顾虑 (gùlǜ), meaning "apprehension" or "misgiving", is a typical Chinese compound formed through the combination of two semantically related characters: 顾 (gù), which means "to look back", "to attend to", or "to consider", and 虑 (lǜ), which means "to ponder", "to worry", or "anxiety". Together, they create a synergistic meaning where 顾 implies turning one's attention to a matter or consequence, and 虑 adds the layer of anxious thought or concern about it. This formation follows the common Chinese lexical pattern of coordinative compounds, where two elements of similar meaning (both relating to thought and consideration) are joined to express a more specific, nuanced concept, in this case, the hesitation or worry that arises from carefully considering potential negative outcomes.