潇洒
xiāo sǎ · HSK 7
confident and at ease
💧 both 潇 and 洒 carry the water radical 氵 — water flowing free and easy
洒 means to sprinkle or spill water; 潇 describes deep clear water and rain. Paired, they point to water moving without restraint, which became the sense of a person who is relaxed, confident, and unbothered.
洒 — water radical 氵 + 西 (xī, phonetic)
洒 is a phonetic-semantic compound: 氵 (water) gives the meaning 'to sprinkle/splash water,' while 西 hints at the sound. Originally it depicted scattering water to clean or moisten the ground, and the sense later broadened to 'spill' or 'scatter' in general.