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美满 (měi mǎn) — happy and complete; blissful; (of marriage, family life) harmonious and fulfilling

Definition

美满 pairs 'beautiful + complete': used almost exclusively for marriage, family, or life as a whole — a fulfilling, harmonious whole. Stronger and more complete than 幸福; more about relationships than the sweet, figurative 甜蜜.

adjective
happy and completeblissful(of marriage, family life) harmonious and fulfilling

Examples

  • ，美满。
    Tā men jié hūn èr shí nián le, shēng huó yì zhí hěn měi mǎn.
    They have been married for twenty years, and their life has always been blissful.
  • 美满。
    Měi gè rén dōu xī wàng yǒu yí gè měi mǎn de jiā tíng.
    Everyone hopes to have a happy and harmonious family.
  • ，美满。
    Kàn dào hái zi men jiàn kāng chéng zhǎng, tā jué de rén shēng hěn měi mǎn.
    Seeing her children grow up healthy, she feels her life is perfectly fulfilling.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

美měigood
满mǎnfull

'美' good and '满' full combine into happy, complete bliss.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

美 shows 大, a person, wearing 羊, a headdress of feathers or ram's horn.

Open 美 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滿; 满 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㒼
㒼㒼滿mǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 滿 pairs 水, showing water, with 㒼, giving the sound. The simplified 满 is a later shorthand, not the original shape.

Open 满 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Good & BadRomance & Marriage

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