The word "孜然" is formed via phonetic transliteration, where the characters "孜" (zī) and "然" (rán) are chosen solely for their sound to approximate the pronunciation of the foreign term for cumin, such as the Uyghur "زىرە" (zire) or English "cumin". The characters do not convey meaning related to the spice; they function together to replicate the auditory form of the original word.