The word 乐观 is formed by combining two conceptual characters: 乐 (lè), which means "joy" or "happiness", and 观 (guān), which means "to view" or "outlook". Together, they create a compound idea where the "view" or "perspective" (观) is fundamentally characterized by "joy" (乐), thus conceptually forming the meaning of "optimism", essentially, seeing the world through a happy and hopeful lens.