优化
yoū huà · HSK 7
to optimize
⚙️ 优 (excellent) + 化 (-ize, to turn into) = to make excellent = optimize
化 is the same suffix as in 现代化 (modernize) and 简化 (simplify): it turns a quality into an action. So 优化 literally means to -ize toward excellence, i.e. optimize or make superior.
优 — person radical 亻 + worry 憂
优 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the person radical 亻 indicates a human, while 憂 (worry, also providing the sound) originally depicted an actor or performer who moved others emotionally. From 'actor' it extended to 'graceful, refined,' and in modern Chinese it commonly means 'excellent' or 'superior.'
化 — person 亻 + spoon/upside-down person 匕
化 is an associative compound showing a standing person 亻 next to 匕, originally a depiction of a person turned upside-down. Together they suggest a figure transforming from one state to another, giving the core meaning 'change' or 'transform'. The character later extended to senses like 'convert', 'influence', and the noun suffix '-ization'.