The Chinese word 麦当劳 (Mài dāng láo) is a **phonetic transcription** formed through the process of transliteration, where Chinese characters are selected primarily for their sound rather than their meaning to approximate the pronunciation of the foreign brand name "McDonald's." The characters 麦 (mài), 当 (dāng), and 劳 (láo) were chosen because their combined spoken syllables closely mimic "Mc-Don-ald's," while the characters themselves carry generally neutral or slightly positive connotations (e.g., 麦 means "wheat," loosely associating with food). This is a standard method in Chinese for adapting foreign proper nouns, especially well-known brands, creating a distinct and locally recognizable identity.