The Chinese word "凯迪拉克" (Kǎidílākè) is a phonetic transcription, or transliteration, of the English brand name "Cadillac." It is formed by selecting individual Chinese characters whose sounds closely approximate the original English syllables—凯 (kǎi) for "Ca," 迪 (dí) for "di," 拉 (lā) for "la," and 克 (kè) for the ending "c"—without carrying the literal meanings of the characters, though the chosen characters often have positive connotations (e.g., 凯 can mean "triumphant"). This is a standard method in Chinese for adapting foreign proper nouns, especially brand names.