The Chinese word **悉尼** (Xīní) for "Sydney" is a phonetically-based transliteration formed by selecting two existing Chinese characters whose modern Mandarin pronunciations closely approximate the two syllables of the English name "Syd-ney," with "悉" (xī) matching the initial "Syd" sound and "尼" (ní) matching the "ney" sound, while intentionally choosing characters that carry generally neutral or vaguely positive connotations (like "悉" meaning "all" or "know thoroughly" and "尼" often used in transliterations like "Buddhist nun") rather than any direct descriptive meaning of the city itself.