The Chinese word **哈萨克斯坦** (Hāsàkèsītǎn) for "Kazakhstan" is formed through a process of **phonetic transcription and semantic reinforcement**, common for translating foreign proper nouns into Chinese. The first three characters **哈萨克** (Hāsàkè) directly transcribe the sound of "Kazakh," the name of the predominant ethnic group and the core of the country's name. The final two characters **斯坦** (sītǎn) form a established transliteration suffix for "-stan" (meaning "land of" in Persian), which is consistently used for other Central/South Asian country names like Pakistan (巴基斯坦) and Afghanistan (阿富汗). Thus, the term is a hybrid construct that captures both the sound and the meaningful geographic suffix of the original name.