美滋滋

měi zī zī · HSK 7

very happy

😋 美 mei = beautiful + 滋滋 zizi = a savoring sizzle sound = beautifully content

滋 means to nourish or taste; doubling it to 滋滋 adds a savoring, sizzling flavor. So 美滋滋 is beautiful plus that savor sound, meaning feeling beautifully elated, like relishing something good.

美 — sheep 羊 on top + big 大 below
美 is traditionally explained as a pictograph of a person (大) wearing a large sheep or ram's-head ornament, suggesting beauty through adornment. An alternative reading takes 羊 (sheep) over 大 (big) to mean 'a big, fat sheep'—seen as delicious and pleasing, hence 'beautiful, good'.

More Chinese words · How Chinese works