The word 赌博 is formed by combining two independent characters, each contributing a core idea related to the activity. The first character, 赌 (dǔ), originally and primarily means "to bet" or "to wager", focusing on the staking of money or valuables. It is paired with 博 (bó), which carries meanings of "rich", "wide", but in this context specifically means "to gamble" or "to play games of chance", emphasizing the act of gaming and risk-taking. Together, they form a compound where 赌 specifies the monetary stake and 博 specifies the game of chance, creating a complete and reinforced concept of gambling as a risk-based game for money.