The word "布丁" (bùdīng) for "pudding" is formed through a straightforward process of phonetic borrowing from the English word "pudding". The Chinese characters were selected purely for how closely their sounds approximate the foreign word, "布" (bù) for the initial "pu" sound and "丁" (dīng) for the ending "ding", with no regard for the original meanings of the characters (which are "cloth" and "man", respectively). This creates a new, fixed term that is instantly recognizable in Chinese as referring specifically to the dessert.