笑眯眯 (xiào mī mī) — smilingly, with a cheerful smile (with eyes nar…

Definition

A vivid adverb meaning 'with a warm, squinty smile' — emphasizes eyes narrowed in pleasure, not just any smile. Often paired with 地 + verb (笑眯眯地看着).

adverb

smilinglywith a cheerful smile (with eyes narrowed in a smile)

笑眯眯，。
Tā xiào mī mī dì jiē guò lǐ wù, lián shēng shuō xiè xie.
She took the gift with a smile and said thank you repeatedly.
笑眯眯。
Lǎo rén xiào mī mī dì kàn zhe hái zi men zài yuàn zi lǐ wán shuǎ.
The old man watched the children playing in the yard with a smile.
笑眯眯。
Nà wèi lǎo shī xiào mī mī dì biǎo yáng le měi gè xué shēng.
That teacher praised every student with a smile.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

艸

艸cǎo笑xiào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early 笑 used the grass 艸 for the sound and the dog 犬 for the meaning; later it was written with 竹 and 夭.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

目米眯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

米

Same sound today

The left part 目 shows this character relates to the eye, while the right part 米 gives its sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

目米眯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

米

Same sound today

The left part 目 shows this character relates to the eye, while the right part 米 gives its sound.