The word "开拓者" is formed by first combining the characters 开 (meaning to open or initiate) and 拓 (meaning to expand or pioneer) into the compound verb 开拓, which conveys the action of pioneering or opening up new territories. Then, the character 者 (a suffix denoting a person who performs an action) is added, resulting in a noun that literally means "a person who pioneers", or simply, a pioneer.