The Chinese word for Canada, 加拿大 (Jiānádà), is formed through a process of phonetic translation, where characters were selected primarily for how closely their pronunciation approximates the sound of the English name "Canada". The three characters, 加 (jiā), 拿 (ná), and 大 (dà), do not carry their literal meanings ("add", "take", "big") in this context but were chosen because, when spoken in sequence, they create the sound "Jia-na-da", a close auditory match to "Canada". This method of creating names for foreign countries and entities by using characters for their sound value, sometimes with an additional consideration for positive or neutral connotations, is a standard practice in Chinese.