周囲
しゅうい · shuui · JLPT N3 · noun
milieu
⭕ 周囲 = 周 (go around) + 囲 (enclose): what goes around and encloses you
周 means a lap or circuit, as in 一周 (one lap) and 周り (around). 囲 means to enclose, as in 囲む (to surround). Together: the ring enclosing something, so both its circumference and the surroundings around it.
周 — enclosure 囗 + 吉 (earth 土 + mouth 口)
Originally a pictograph of a field with grain plotted in rows, suggesting density and completeness. It came to mean 'all around,' 'circumference,' and 'complete,' later extending to 'week' (a full cycle). Also a major surname, famously the Zhou dynasty.