The Chinese word 孟菲斯 (Mèngfēisī) is a phonetic transliteration formed to approximate the sound of the English name "Memphis". Each character is chosen primarily for its pronunciation in Mandarin: "孟" (Mèng) corresponds to the "Mem" syllable, "菲" (fēi) represents "phis", and "斯" (sī) adds the final "s" sound, a common suffix in Chinese transliterations to handle ending consonants. The characters themselves carry little semantic relevance to the original city (with meanings like "eldest", "luxuriant", and "this"), as the primary goal is auditory imitation rather than conveying meaning.