The Chinese word "维多利亚瀑布" is formed through a two-part process: first, the name "Victoria" is phonetically transcribed using the characters 维 (wéi), 多 (duō), 利 (lì), and 亚 (yà) to approximate its sound, creating "维多利亚"; second, the semantic component 瀑布 (pùbù), meaning "waterfall", is appended to indicate the natural phenomenon, resulting in a compound that literally translates to "Victoria waterfall".