The word "好莱坞" (Hǎo lái wù) is formed through a process of phonetic borrowing, specifically by selecting three pre-existing Chinese characters whose sounds closely approximate the syllables of the English place name "Hollywood". The characters, 好 (hǎo), 莱 (lái), and 坞 (wù), are combined not for their individual meanings ("good", "mugwort", "dock/fort") but purely for their collective sound, creating a phonetic replica that allows the foreign term to be naturally integrated and pronounced within the Chinese language.