The word 再见 is formed by directly combining two meaningful characters: 再 (zài), which carries the idea of "again" or "once more", and 见 (jiàn), which means "to see" or "to meet". Its formation is therefore entirely literal and compositional, creating the core meaning "to see (you) again", which functions as the standard expression for "goodbye" with the inherent, optimistic expectation of a future meeting.