The Chinese word **小区** (xiǎoqū), meaning "residential community" or "housing estate," is a modern compound formed by combining **小** (xiǎo, meaning "small") and **区** (qū, meaning "area" or "district"). It is a shortened form of the longer phrase **居民小区** (jūmín xiǎoqū, "residential small district"), which emerged in the mid-20th century to describe planned, self-contained urban residential complexes with shared amenities. The term reflects a conceptual shift in urban planning, where **区** denotes a designated zone, and **小** distinguishes these localized living areas from larger administrative districts (**大区** dàqū), creating a concise term for a ubiquitous feature of contemporary Chinese cities.