The Chinese word 伊凡 (Yīfán) is a phonetically formed transliteration, specifically designed to approximate the sounds of the foreign name "Ivan" (as in Ivan the Terrible) into Mandarin. It is created using characters chosen primarily for their pronunciation ("伊" sounding like "ee" and "凡" like "fan"), with little to no regard for their original semantic meanings (which are "he/she" and "ordinary," respectively). This method of word formation, common for translating foreign names and terms, is called **phonetic borrowing** or transliteration, where the written form captures sound rather than meaning.