The word 笑容 is formed by directly combining two meaningful characters: 笑 (xiào), which pictorially represents a person with bamboo leaves overhead, suggesting the lightness and joy of "laughter" or "a smile", and 容 (róng), which depicts a roof over a valley, conveying the idea of "containing" or "holding", and by extension, one's "face" or "appearance". Together, they create a compound where the action or state of 笑 (smiling/laughing) is visibly contained and manifested upon the 容 (face), resulting in the complete, tangible concept of a "smiling expression" or "the look of a smile".