The Chinese word 骚乱 (sāoluàn), meaning "riot" or "turmoil," is a compound formed by combining two characters with related semantic meanings. The first character, 骚 (sāo), carries connotations of disturbance, unrest, or agitation. The second character, 乱 (luàn), explicitly means chaos, disorder, or rebellion. When paired together in a coordinated (or paratactic) structure common in Chinese, they reinforce and specify each other, creating a term that vividly denotes a state of chaotic social disturbance or violent public disorder, where 骚 emphasizes the turbulent and disruptive nature and 乱 defines the resulting state of confusion.