The word 木乃伊 for "mummy" is formed through a process of phonetic borrowing and evocative imagery. It directly transliterates the sound of the English word "mummy" (mù nǎi yī) while cleverly choosing characters that independently suggest meaning: 木 (wood) hints at the rigid, desiccated state; 乃 (an archaic connective) flows phonetically; and 伊 (an ancient pronoun for "that one" or "he/she") lends an antique, foreign aura. Together, they create a composite idea of "that wooden-like ancient one", effectively capturing both the sound and a visual essence of the concept it names.