The word 大学生 is formed through a straightforward conceptual combination: it takes the idea of a large or advanced institution of learning (大学, meaning "university", itself formed from 大 "big/great" and 学 "learning/study") and attaches the concept of a person or life associated with it (生, meaning "person" or "one who is living/engaged in"). It is built by logically stacking these core ideas, first defining the institution and then specifying the type of person connected to it, resulting in the complete concept of "university student".